Trump Approves Major New Oil Pipeline Crossing Montana and Wyoming in Boost to U.S. Energy Independence
Why It Matters
The Bridger Pipeline Expansion would pass through Wyoming and connect with existing pipeline infrastructure, bringing significant implications for the state’s energy sector, local economies, and land use. The project represents one of the most consequential domestic energy infrastructure decisions in years, advancing President Trump’s energy dominance agenda and signaling a sharp departure from the Biden-era approach to oil and gas development.
For Wyoming, a state whose economy is closely tied to energy production, the pipeline’s approval adds momentum to efforts by the energy industry to better align with Trump’s energy dominance agenda — and signals that major infrastructure investment may be returning to the region.
What Happened
President Donald Trump on Thursday granted a presidential permit authorizing the Bridger Pipeline Expansion to cross the international border between Saskatchewan, Canada, and northeastern Montana. The permit also authorizes the transport of other petroleum products, including gasoline, kerosene, diesel, and liquified petroleum gas.
The three-foot-wide pipeline would carry up to 550,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada through Montana and Wyoming, where it would connect with an existing pipeline. The 650-mile project has been nicknamed “Keystone Light” due to its similarities to the Keystone XL pipeline, which Former President Biden canceled on his first day in office in 2021, citing climate change concerns.
“Slightly different from the last administration. They wouldn’t sign a pipeline deal. And we have pipelines going up,” Trump said after signing the approval.
Bridger Pipeline LLC, a subsidiary of Casper, Wyoming-based True Company, is developing the project. Company spokesperson Bill Salvin said construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2027, with completion targeted for late 2028 or early 2029 — before Trump’s term ends on January 20, 2029. The pipeline still requires additional state and federal environmental approvals before construction can begin.
By the Numbers
- 550,000 barrels per day — maximum capacity of the Bridger Pipeline Expansion at peak volume
- 650 miles — total length of the proposed pipeline route through Montana and Wyoming
- More than 70% of the pipeline would be built within existing pipeline corridors; 80% on private land
- $12.5 million — civil penalty paid by True Company subsidiaries to settle a federal lawsuit over prior pipeline spills in North Dakota and Montana
- 3,700+ miles of existing gathering and transmission pipelines already operated by True Company subsidiaries in the Williston Basin and Wyoming’s Powder River Basin
Safety Record and Pipeline Design
Bridger Pipeline and affiliated subsidiaries have been responsible for several significant spills in recent years, including more than 50,000 gallons of crude that contaminated the Yellowstone River and a Montana city’s drinking water supply in 2015, a 45,000-gallon diesel spill in Wyoming in 2022, and a 2016 spill of more than 600,000 gallons in North Dakota that contaminated the Little Missouri River and a tributary.
Salvin said the company has implemented an AI-based leak detection system since the 2015 Yellowstone spill. The new pipeline is also designed to bore 30 to 40 feet beneath major rivers, including the Yellowstone and Missouri, to reduce spill risk. The 2015 accident occurred on a line built in a shallow trench at the river bottom.
“We designed the pipeline with integrity and safety in mind. We have emergency response plans should something happen where oil happens to get out of the line, which is fairly rare,” Salvin said, according to reporting from the Associated Press.
Zoom Out
The Keystone XL cancellation by Biden in 2021 frustrated Canadian officials and cost Alberta more than $1 billion in sunk investment. Trump had approved the Keystone XL project during his first term in 2020. The Bridger expansion, carrying roughly two-thirds as much oil as Keystone XL at full capacity, represents the most direct successor to that project under the current administration.
As Wyoming communities weigh the broader effects of energy development on local infrastructure, questions remain about how public services will absorb increased activity. Some Wyoming towns have already begun pushing for energy developers to pay up front for public service impacts associated with large-scale projects.
What’s Next
Bridger Pipeline must still secure additional state and federal environmental approvals before breaking ground. Environmentalists have signaled opposition and are expected to pursue legal challenges. If the company is able to complete the pipeline before Trump’s term ends in January 2029, it would be significantly harder for a future administration to reverse course on an already-operational line.
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