Bridger Pipeline Proposes 647‑Mile Keystone‑XL Revival
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- Bridger Pipeline filed a 647‑mile, 36‑inch wide crude pipeline proposal through Montana and Wyoming, the same corridor once slated for Keystone XL, and will need a presidential permit to cross the Canada‑U.S. border.
- Bridger Pipeline says the line would move 550,000 barrels per day under current assumptions, with the ability to scale to 1.13 million barrels per day to Guernsey, Wyoming.
- U.S. Bureau of Land Management is accepting written public comments on the proposal until May 1 and will hold two in‑person meetings in Montana, one in Wyoming, and a virtual meeting in mid‑April.
- South Bow launched an “open season” in March to secure buyer commitments for shipping Alberta oil to U.S. Gulf Coast and other destinations, potentially linking to the new pipeline.
- Jane Kleeb of Bold Alliance called the plan a "bait and switch," accusing pipeline firms of breaking projects into smaller parts to dodge community opposition.
- Derf Johnson of the Montana Environmental Information Center labeled the project a tar‑sands pipeline and warned that bitumen spills are harder to clean and that the extraction process is climate‑intensive.
Why it matters: Oil producers and pipeline firms stand to gain new market access for Canadian tar‑sands crude, while environmental groups and local communities face heightened climate‑impact risks and spill hazards. The BLM’s comment window gives opponents a rare procedural lever to challenge a project that could lock in high‑carbon infrastructure.
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