Bridger's New Pipeline Expandable to 1,130,000 BPD | Grand Mesa Continues Competitive Push
Bridger advances major Canadian crude project with potential Bakken access, as Grand Mesa cuts uncommitted rates to $5/barrel
Bridger Pipeline Files Full Montana DEQ Application - New Pipeline Expandable to 1,130,000 BPD
Bridger Pipeline has submitted its complete application to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality for a new pipeline that will transport Canadian crude from the U.S.-Canada border to Guernsey, Wyoming. While an initial February notice indicated a capacity of 550,000 barrels per day (bpd), the full filing reveals the pipeline’s potential to deliver up to 1,130,000 bpd of incremental transportation capacity into Guernsey, though it is expected to operate initially at the 550,000 bpd level.
The 36-inch pipeline (purple line in figure below) appears to be designed with substantial future optionality. Its cited maximum expandability to 1,130,000 bpd may suggest the potential ability to batch light oil, allowing significantly higher volumes than the typical 800,000 bpd ceiling for heavy oil service on a line of this size. Although the application specifically mentions moving Canadian oil, detailed maps also show potential tie-ins at key Bakken receipt points — Four Mile Station north of Sidney, Montana, and Baker/Sandstone Station west of Baker, Montana — providing access to most of Bridger’s North Dakota gathering network (green lines below), including recently acquired Caliber Midstream assets (shown in red below). This optionality positions the project for potential future expansion beyond 550,000 bpd and creates the possibility of a new competitive egress option for Bakken shippers.
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Grand Mesa Pipeline Cuts Uncommitted Rate to $5/Barrel Amid Recent Competitive Push
Grand Mesa Pipeline has filed a new tariff that reduces its uncommitted rates from Weld County, Colorado to Cushing, Oklahoma to a flat $5.00 per barrel. The reduction represents a 12% to 32% decrease depending on prior volume tiers and comes at an opportune time as recent oil price spikes tied to the Iran conflict encourage producers to pull forward volumes where possible. The new rate is designed to strengthen Grand Mesa’s competitiveness in the spot market, particularly for barrels originating at the more northern Lucerne and Riverside terminals.
While the $5 rate remains well above committed shipper rates out of Northern Colorado (which is below $2.00 for some pipes), it positions Grand Mesa favorably against alternative uncommitted paths such as DJ South Gathering plus White Cliffs, which sit slightly above $5. This latest more aggressive pricing move follows a strong year of volume growth, with Grand Mesa increasing mainline throughput from 55,000 barrels per day in Q2 2025 to 85,000 barrels per day by Q4 2025 as the company continues locking in new committed shippers.
Flow/Transaction Updates and New Assets Under Coverage
Plainview has over 300 assets with crude oil flow or transactional data on our platform and continues to add more each week. Data for existing assets under coverage are posted as soon as they become available. Below are the assets that were updated this week or newly added to coverage.
