President Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday in Washington. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption

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Alex Brandon/AP

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — President Trump granted a key approval Thursday for a major new oil pipeline that would carry oil from Canada into the U.S. where it would be exported and refined.

The 3-foot-wide Bridger Pipeline Expansion would carry up to 550,000 barrels (87,400 cubic meters) of oil a day from the Canadian border with Montana down through eastern Montana and Wyoming, where it would link with another pipeline.

The project would require additional state and federal environmental approvals before construction, which company officials expect to start next year.…