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Global Review
A nation’s energy supply is primarily dependent on its oil and gas sectors, which means that critical infrastructure is often interdependent. Therefore terrorist attacks against the energy sector can also involve and adversely affect other sectors, such as transportation and communications.
An attack on a single oil well for example can, at best, impact an individual company while at worst it can result in large-scale fuel flow disruptions that wreak havoc on a country’s economy and way of life. Attacks on key oil & gas pipelines and installations can trigger energy outages, not only throughout the state in question, but across whole regions, affecting both global supply and international prices.
In addition to the targeting of the energy sector by insurgent groups, oil refineries and pipelines can also be devastated by accidents and natural disasters, with costly ramifications to a nation’s environment and its economic well being.
Energy threats
In the past the energy sector has been targeted by various organizations throughout the world, with the threats being both local and global. In Colombia, for example, the FARC insurgency organization’s targeting of the country’s energy sector is primarily localized. The global Jihadist insurgency, on the other hand, is transnational and has created ripples throughout every critical node in the affected countries’ economic infrastructures.
As an example, Al Qaeda’s head, Osama Bin Laden, is known to be an educated engineer and he and his associates possess the resources - both in terms of knowledge and funding - to mount serious attacks against a range of international oil & gas facilities.
Al Qaeda and its global Jihadist satellites therefore represent the primary terrorist threat to the Western world and its allies. Bin Laden is keenly aware of the significance of the energy sector to the economic well-being of his adversaries, especially to the US and Saudi Arabia.
This threat has now reached crisis proportions in Iraq, where the country’s economic recovery has been severely damaged, both by insurgent attacks against major pipelines, and by the assassination of oil officials. The overthrow of Saddam’s regime in Iraq has situated Iraq’s gas and oil facilities as prime terrorist targets. All this is part of a deliberate strategy to disrupt and undermine Iraq’s economic reconstruction and to force the U.S. and its coalition partners to leave the country with a sense of defeat.
In Saudi Arabia, Jihadists and al Qaeda’s affiliated terrorists have been killing foreign oil workers as part of their strategy to weaken the country’s oil infrastructure and to drive away foreigners and international investment.
Security solutions
The energy supply of most nations depends largely on the oil and gas sectors where critical infrastructure - especially energy supply lines - is interdependent.
Disruption
An attack on a single oil well for example can, at best, impact an individual company while at worst it can result in large-scale fuel flow disruptions that wreak havoc on a country’s economy and way of life. Attacks on key oil & gas pipelines and installations can trigger energy outages, not only throughout the state in question, but across whole regions, affecting both global supply and international prices.
Integrated approach
Energy risks are not just related to terrorist attacks, but can also include accidents and natural disasters, all of which can involve and adversely affect other economic sectors - for example transportation and communications - not to mention the environment. Through its integrated security approach, Alcyon sets strategies to protect and mitigate against the range of energy sector risks, including terrorism, crime, accidents and natural disasters. |
