South Bow Corp. announced on May 29 a “successful outcome” of the open season held in March that solicited firm transportation commitments for crude oil from Hardisty, AB to U.S. delivery points including Cushing, OK and the Gulf Coast. South Bow noted it had secured 20-year binding commitments but did not say how much capacity was committed. The open season was offering about 450 Mb/d of capacity, or about 82% of the pipeline’s initial proposed capacity of 550 Mb/d. In early May Reuters reported four sources said the open season received at least 400 Mb/d of commitments. South Bow noted it would continue advancing Prairie Connector toward a final investment decision targeted for mid-2027.
South Bow’s Prairie Connector project is the Canadian portion of the pipeline project previously known as Keystone XL. South Bow’s press release confirmed that Prairie Connector would connect with Bridger Pipeline LLC’s proposed Bridger Expansion pipeline project at the Alberta-Montana border. Prairie Connector would see the construction of approximately 380 km (236 miles) of 36-inch pipeline, and leverage approximately 150 km (93 miles) of previously installed and preserved pipeline and two pump stations. As discussed in our 80+ page multi-client study Roundabout! - Canada-to-Rockies Crude Flows Reshaping the PADD 4 Guernsey Market (also see our Roundabout! blog from March 24), Bridger’s project would deliver crude oil from the border to the Guernsey, WY hub, a different route than what Keystone XL was proposing. The project to move the crude oil beyond Guernsey has not yet been announced.
Reuters reported that at a conference held in Calgary on May 28, South Bow’s CEO Bevin Wirzba noted that they would not proceed with the project until there is proof that the U.S. Presidential Permit for the border crossing segment, signed by President Trump on April 30, is “durable”. Recall that Keystone XL’s Presidential Permit was rescinded by President Biden on his first day in office in January 2021.
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) expect to issue a Record of Decision on Bridger's project by the spring of 2027, according to comments made in April by DEQ and BLM officials.
