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Market Chatter: South Bow Seeks US Permit Assurances Before Considering Keystone XL Revival

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South Bow CEO Bevin Wirzba will seek assurances about the stability of the US presidential permit before the Canadian pipeline operator will consider a partial restart of the Keystone XL oil pipeline project, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The Canadian company previously lost a presidential permit for the cross-border project, Wirzba said, after it was cancelled in 2021 by former US President Joe Biden after years of environmental and indigenous opposition.

South Bow is working with the US and Canada to reduce "sovereign risk" or the possibility of a government unilaterally blocking or halting the construction of its proposed 550,000-barrel-per-day Prairie Connector crude oil pipeline, Wirzba told a gathering at the Energy Roundtable conference in Calgary.

South Bow was formed in 2024 as a spin-off of TC Energy's oil pipeline business, which included former Keystone XL assets.

The company, along with US partner Bridger Pipeline has proposed the construction of a new Alberta-to-Wyoming pipeline, which would include the use of certain already-installed Keystone XL assets in Canada, the report said.

Last month, US President Donald Trump approved a cross-border permit for the Prairie Connector pipeline, which is expected to increase Canada's crude exports to the US by over 12%, it said.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

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