Security is a Major Concern for Energy Company CEOs in Asia

May 3rd, 2007

I have just come home from a month-long road trip to Australia and Asia. While I was traveling in Southeast Asia, I found a common issue was dominating the minds of responsible individuals and leaders in these organizations: Terrorists in Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia have been targeting oil and gas industry assets more frequently in those countries. So are the Tamil rebels in Sri Lanka. Once again, I am struck by the serendipity of our product development. Before I took the trip, I was glad we included a real time emergency response component in Essential Suite, but I never predicted how it might be most effectively used.

Now I know first-hand that not only do these organizations need to minimize operational risk, but much more critically, they have to deal with the risk of terrorist activities shutting down their facilities and with the potential for massive environmental exposure
from successful attacks. Security has become the biggest issue for them, and a real time emergency response is a real requirement for EH&S and Crisis Management systems all over Asia.

Earlier this week, the Tamil Tigers bombed two fuel facilities in Colombo, forcing the partial shutdown of the airport as major carriers decided only to fly there in daylight or not at all.

Here’s the story from Reuters Net Alert:

This security issue is a big concern of both local and multinational oil and gas companies and energy companies operating in Southeast Asia. I heard it repeatedly from CIOs and EH&S executives on this trip.

Tags: emergency response oil and gas operational risk terrorists

Entry Filed under: Operational Risk Management, Corporate Governance, Crisis Management