Standing Rock activists eye pipeline finances to cement Dakota Access win

Operator has suggested that shippers had a right to terminate their contracts with the project if the pipeline was not operating by a 1 January deadline

Indigenous activists are focussing on the Dakota Access pipeline's finances before Donald Trump takes office in an effort to further strain the oil corporation and cause continuing delays that they hope could be disastrous for the project.

After the Obama administration denied the company a key permit to finish construction, Native American activists warned that the win was only temporary and that Trump, an investor in the pipeline corporation, would seek to quickly advance the project next year.