South Bow boss taking lessons from Keystone XL as it pursues new cross-border project

Pipes meant for the Keystone XL pipeline are stored in a field near Dorchester, Neb. (Chris Machian /Omaha World-Herald via AP, File)

CALGARY — Spreading out risk among partners and customers will be key if South Bow Corp. goes ahead with the new Alberta-U.S. pipeline project it’s pitching to oilsands producers, its top executive said Friday.

That was one of the lessons the company drew from a past attempt to expand its cross-border system — the infamous Keystone XL proposal repeatedly killed and resurrected amid fervent environmental opposition.

“Our team has learned through many previous projects that allocating risk appropriately among all stakeholders — our customers, ourselves as developers, partners — is really critical. So the team has been working diligently on that front,” CEO Bevin Wirzba told analysts on a quarterly conference call.

“We will not sacrifice our capital allocation discipline through advancing any project.”

The Calgary-based company, which used to be part of TC Energy Corp., has begun gauging customer interest in its Prairie Connector proposal, which would start in Hardisty, Alta., and carry oilsands crude to various U.S. destinations.

The existing Keystone system starts in the same eastern Alberta town and currently delivers crude to refineries in the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast.

The ill-fated XL expansion first pitched in 2008 would have added capacity, along with a section of new pipe providing a more direct route to the Gulf of Mexico via Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska.

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U.S. President Donald Trump has said he wants to see that project once again revived after his predecessor Joe Biden kiboshed it in 2021. Prime Minister Mark Carney floated the prospect with Trump within the context of broader trade talks last year.

Some unused pipe is already in the ground on the Canadian side of the border for what was supposed to be Keystone XL. Permits remain in place for that portion, Wirzba said.

Private U.S. firm Bridger Pipeline LLC has proposed a pipeline that would carry 550,000 barrels per day of crude from the Canada-U.S. border in Montana to Guernsey, Wyo. There has been speculation around that pipeline linking up with the dormant Keystone XL infrastructure in Canada.

Bridger said in its submission to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality in January that a presidential permit would be needed for its project.

South Bow has begun soliciting binding commitments for long-term transportation service from Hardisty to points south, including the massive crude storage hub at Cushing, Okla., and the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The bid process known as an “open season” is to last until the end of this month, and South Bow will take the two months after that to determine whether there is enough commercial support to move ahead.

Wirzba, who declined to say how much Prairie Connector could cost, said he’s confident its latest offering will be able to complete with another cross-border proposal by Enbridge Inc., as well as potential Venezuelan supplies flowing into the U.S. Gulf Coast market.

It has the benefit of using infrastructure already in the ground, along with an established customer base for its existing system, he said.

“We are customer-led, meaning that we had good alignment with our customers heading into the open season,” he said.

In November, rival Enbridge announced it will proceed with the first phase of its Mainline Optimization project, which will see 150,000 barrels per day of capacity added to its vast cross-Canada system, the backbone of the country’s oil transport infrastructure that taps into the U.S. Midwest.

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The US$1.4-billion plan will also add 100,000 barrels per day of capacity to the Flanagan South system, enabling greater volumes to flow from Illinois to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Enbridge has said a second Mainline Optimization phase could add another 250,000 barrels per day of capacity in 2028.

In early January, the U.S. military captured former leader Nicolas Maduro and removed him from power. Trump has since been courting U.S. energy majors to revive Venezuela’s beleaguered energy sector, which in recent years has been able to only tap a tiny fraction of its massive potential.

That’s raised the spectre of Venezuelan barrels pushing Canadian ones out of the Gulf Coast market, where refineries are set up to handle the tarry crude coming out of both countries.

Wirzba said recent geopolitical upheaval, like the war embroiling the Middle East and closing off a vital oil shipping route, is showing that oil and gas infrastructure is critical.

“Those realities are a great backdrop for us to provide a solution that increases energy security in North America between the great resource up in Canada to the strong demand markets in the U.S. Gulf Coast.”

Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 6, 2026.