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Report: Ambassador Rice owns stock in the company building Keystone XL pipeline

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United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, believed to be  a frontrunner for secretary of state in President Obama’s second term, has holdings in multiple oil companies and banks that would stand to gain from the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, according to Onearth.org.

Rice and her husband own between $300,000 and $600,000 in stock in TransCanada, the company trying to get a federal permit to to build the international pipeline which will transport tar sands oil from Canada to refineries in Texas. A revelation which has drawn fire from some environmental activists.

“It’s really amazing that they’re considering someone for Secretary of State who has millions invested in these companies,” said Bill McKibben, writer and founder of the environmental activist groups 350.org and Tar Sands Action.

Onearth.org reports that Rice has about one-third of her net worth invested in oil producers, pipeline operators, and other related energy industries in Canada. She and her husband together have at least $1.25 million in stocks with four leading Canadian oil producers, according to Onearth.org.

Rice also owns small stakes in other Canadian energy companies, transportation companies, and coal-fired utilities.

“Ambassador Rice is in full compliance with all financial disclosure requirements related to her service in the U.S. government and is committed to continuing to meet these obligations,” said Erin Pelton, Rice’s spokesperson, reports the Washington Post.

The Post reports Rice’s Canadian connections go back twenty years to when she was working in Toronto for the McKinsey & Co. consulting firm, and Rice’s Canadian husband Ian Cameron was a television producer there for the Canadian Broadcasting Co.

Onearth.org also reports that about 20 percent of Rice’s personal wealth comes from investments in five Canadian banks, some of which provided loans and financial backing to TransCanada and other companies for tar sands extraction and infrastructure projects, like the Keystone XL.

“The State Department has been rife with collusion with the Canadian pipeline builders, and it’s really distressing to have any sense that that might continue to go on,” McKibben said.

According to Onearth.org, Rice and her husband have a large portfolio that includes more than 100 securities, ranging from Apple and IBM to BP and McDonald’s. Center for Responsive Politics researcher Dan Auble told Onearth.org that it’s not unusual for energy investments play a significant role in public officials’ financial portfolios.

The Onearth.org report also notes that the latest data from the Center for Responsive Politics shows Rice’s net worth was between $23.5 million and $43.5 million in 2009, making her “either the wealthiest person currently serving in the executive branch or a close second to Clinton.”

Rice has not yet been directly involved in State Department’s review of the pipeline, according to Onearth.org.

However, if Rice does end up heading the State Department she would be able decide whether or not TransCanada could issue permits to complete the sections of the pipeline from Oklahoma to the Canadian border.

“What’s most important is that she rid herself of her holdings in TransCanada and other tar sands-related companies, and we’re confident she will do that,” said Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, director of international programs at the Natural Resource Defense Council.

Late last year, the Obama administration punted the pipeline decision until after the election in an effort to possibly avoid the political risks of a controversial decision in an election year. The pipeline decision is likely to be made early in 2013.

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