Bridger Pipeline Expansion, LLC has filed plans with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality for a new 36-inch crude oil transmission line (yellow dashed line in map below) that would move Canadian crude roughly 645 miles south to Guernsey, Wyoming. Given the proposed border origin point, the only infrastructure capable of supplying that scale of incremental volume is the partially constructed Keystone XL system (red line in map) in Alberta, which has remained idle since 2021. Segments of 36-inch pipe, along with the Hardisty-area terminal and two pump stations, are already in place. By effectively tying into that dormant footprint, Bridger’s proposal would repurpose stranded assets and create a functional cross-border outlet without reviving Keystone XL’s full southern leg.
More than half of the Montana segment and all of Wyoming would parallel existing rights-of-way. That approach lowers construction costs and reduces environmental and regulatory risk in a landscape where permitting timelines can make or break project economics. Operationally, the line could interconnect with Bridger’s existing systems at Four Mile and Baker, allowing some Bakken light crude to enter the stream. Although Canadian barrels appear to be the primary target, incremental Bakken receipts would add throughput stability and commercial optionality.
