US president-elect Donald Trump holds stock in the company building the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline and pipeline opponents warn that Trump’s investments could affect any decision he makes on the US$3.8 billion project as president.
Concern about Trump’s possible conflicts comes amid protests that unfold daily along the proposed pipeline route. The dispute over the route has intensified in recent weeks, with total arrests since August rising to 528. A recent clash near the main protest camp in North Dakota left a police officer and several protesters injured.
Trump’s most recent federal disclosure forms, filed in May, show he owned between US$15,000 and US$50,000 in stock in Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners. That is down from between US$500,000 and US$1 million a year earlier.
Photo: Reuters
Trump also owns between US$100,000 and US$250,000 in Phillips 66, which has a one-quarter share of Dakota Access.
While Trump’s stake in the pipeline company is modest compared with his other assets, ethics experts say it is among dozens of potential conflicts that could be resolved by placing his investments in a blind trust, a step Trump has resisted.
US President Barack Obama’s administration this month said it wants more study and tribal input before deciding whether to allow the partially built pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota.
The 1,930km pipeline would carry oil across four US states to a shipping point in Illinois. The project has been held up while the US Army Corps of Engineers consults with the Standing Rock Sioux, who believe the project could harm the tribe’s drinking water and Native American cultural sites.
The delay raises the likelihood that a final decision will be made by Trump, a pipeline supporter who has vowed to “unleash” unfettered production of oil and gas. He takes office in January.
Trump, a billionaire who has never held public office, holds ownership stakes in more than 500 companies worldwide.
He has said he plans to transfer control of his company to three of his adult children, but ethics experts have said conflicts could engulf the new administration if Trump does not liquidate his business holdings.
Besides Trump, at least two possible candidates for US secretary of energy could also could benefit from the pipeline.
Oil billionaire Harold Hamm could ship oil from his company, Continental Resources, through the pipeline, while former Texas Governor Rick Perry serves on the board of directors of Energy Transfer Partners.
Dallas-based Energy Transfer CEO Kelcy Warren told reporters that he expects Trump to make it easier for his company and others to complete infrastructure projects.
“Do I think it’s going to get easier? Of course,” said Warren, who donated US$3,000 to Trump’s campaign, plus US$100,000 to a committee supporting Trump’s candidacy and also US$66,800 to the Republican National Committee.
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