Unused pipe for the Keystone XL pipeline outside Gascoyne, N.D. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
February 25, 2026 4:12 PM, EST
South Bow Corp. is considering an expansion of its pipeline system that may revive a version of the canceled Keystone XL project.
Bridger Pipeline filed an application last month with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to build and operate a 550,000-barrel-a-day line that would move Canadian crude through Montana to Wyoming. The route would originate near Keystone XL’s planned border crossing, raising the prospect that parts of the long-stalled project could be repurposed.
Keystone XL was meant to be an expansion of the existing Keystone system, which crosses the U.S. border in North Dakota, and instead has become a political flashpoint since it was originally proposed in 2008. Former President Joe Biden withdrew a key permit for the project in 2021 after portions had already been built in Canada.
South Bow is now evaluating an expansion that would leverage existing infrastructure and permitted corridors in Canada to connect with downstream pipelines in the U.S., Solomiya Lyaskovska, a South Bow spokesperson, said in an email, responding to questions about the Bridger plan. The concept is in its early stages, and the company will work with prospective customers, stakeholders and rightsholders before sharing further details, she said.
South Bow was spun off in 2024 from TC Energy Corp., which originally proposed Keystone XL.
The Bridger project would allow the “stranded steel” of Keystone XL to be converted into a working pipeline system, according to a report from RBN Energy. If tied into that dormant footprint, the combined pipes could create a functional cross-border outlet without the need for Keystone XL’s southern leg, RBN said.
Bill Salvin, a spokesperson for Bridger Pipeline, declined to comment on which pipeline or other infrastructure in Canada would link to the company’s proposed project.
A project resembling Keystone XL might ease tensions between Canada and President Donald Trump after tariffs imposed early in his term damaged cross-border relations.
Trump has called for Keystone XL to be revived, writing last year on social media that the project “should come back to America, and get it built — NOW!” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also raised the prospect of reviving Keystone XL during a meeting in the White House last year with the president.
Proposed almost 20 years ago to carry crude from Alberta’s oil sands to U.S. refineries, Keystone XL became a point of conflict between environmentalists and supporters of expanded oil development. Former President Barack Obama rejected the project, straining relations with Canada.
Trump then revived it during his first term before Biden canceled it in 2021. The line was designed to run from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Neb.
