Trump's Stock in Oil Pipeline Company Raises Concern

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 $3.8 billion project as president.

Trump's 2016 federal disclosure forms show he owned between $15,000 and $50,000 in stock in Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners. That is down from between $500,000 and $1 million a year earlier, AP reported.

Trump also owns between $100,000 and $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, 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.

The Obama administration said this month 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 1,200-mile pipeline would carry oil across four states to a shipping point in Illinois. The plan is currently suspended following protests by environmental groups.

"Trump's investments in the pipeline business threaten to undercut faith in this process - which was already frayed - by interjecting his own financial well-being into a much bigger decision," said Sharon Buccino, director of the land and wildlife program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group.

Besides Trump, at least two possible candidates for energy secretary also could benefit from the pipeline. Oil billionaire Harold Hamm could ship oil from his company, Continental Resources, through the pipeline, while former Texas Gov. Rick Perry serves on the board of directors of Energy Transfer Partners.

Concern about Trump's possible conflicts comes as protests over the pipeline have intensified in recent weeks, with total arrests since August rising to 528.  A clash this past week near the main protest camp in North Dakota left a police officer and several protesters injured. North Dakota Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple, along with GOP Sen. John Hoeven and Rep. Kevin Cramer, called on President Barack Obama to authorize the Army Corps of Engineers to approve the pipeline crossing, the last large segment of the nearly completed pipeline.