Black gold – securing the oil

Although one of the most lucrative and depended upon industries in the world, the oil industry is also one of the most vulnerable due to the potential for safety and security breaches and the extreme consequences such events can have. Sadly, modern history has already provided us with plenty of examples of when the repercussions of incidents in the sector have been far reaching, affecting the environment, members of the public as well as other sectors. Moreover, the wavering nature of the raw material treated as well as the world’s dependency on it makes sites such as oil refineries highly attractive targets to terrorists and criminals.

Satisfying Demand
According to Oil and Gas UK, the trade association for the oil and gas sectors, oil produced on the UK Continental Shelf satisfied 87 per cent of domestic demand in 2010, and by 2020 it is estimated that 70 per cent of primary energy consumed in the UK will still come from oil and gas, despite the Government’s push towards promoting the development and use of renewable sources of energy. It is therefore clear how the consistent demand for its resources, coupled with their finiteness, puts the oil sector in a very vulnerable position.

In April 2010, BP’s Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in the death of 11 people and in 4.9m barrels of oil being discharged at sea. Although the incident was not caused by a security breach, it provided an unfortunate and elaborate example of the scale of the damage that can be caused when things go wrong in the industry. The consequences of the spillage were devastating and far reaching, from irreparable damage to the ecosystem to reduced tourism trade for the Gulf of Mexico, hefty costs associated with the clean-up operations and damage to reputation for BP as well as, potentially, other UK companies operating overseas.

It is oil’s explosive and highly polluting nature, combined with the high value placed upon petroleum-based products, that makes the industry also a highly attractive target to thieves, criminals and, in worst cases, terrorists. Back in 2005, the report from the Department of National Defence in Canada already warned about oil refineries becoming a high-priority target for radical groups, “given the potential economic devastation that the destruction of one of these sites could cause”. Now, with the eyes of the world turned to the UK this summer, and the country on a substantial terrorist alert, this threat could be all the more real.

Securing the sector
Perimeter protection, intrusion detection, fire detection systems, remote supervision through CCTV technology, as well as pipelining monitoring are the most common technological elements employed for the security of the sites across the sector. However, without these systems working together to ensure all angles of security are covered and all vulnerable areas are being accounted for, even the most high-tech measure will prove powerless when faced with increasingly deceitful and intelligent criminals. Therefore, security integration is key to success.

In order to achieve effective integration of the systems on site, it is important for oil companies to undertake comprehensive reviews of the solutions available and the possible threats faced by the site in question. This is achieved by carrying out risk assessments and taking into consideration the current security infrastructure already in place.

For this reason, employing professional and experienced security consultancies can greatly assist in the delivery and implementation of appropriate security strategies, particularly for multi-faceted sites such as oil refineries, where the level of detail and expertise required to make the necessary considerations and implementations warrant the need for highly experienced security advisors. BSIA members of the Security Consultancies section have a wealth of experience securing the oil industry at all levels, and are therefore best placed to provide sound and objective advice and guidance on this matter.

High Risk
As the main locations where petroleum products are transformed into more usable goods such as gasoline and fuel, oil refineries are at particular high risk of security breaches. Often spread across large and multi-faceted sites, they require carefully integrated security strategies that encompass a review of all the threats the sites are likely to attract or encounter.

Perimeter protection is essential to avoid the entry of unwarranted individuals on site. This is achieved by positioning higher than usual fences and barriers, often also alarmed, around the site, and integrating to it strategically places CCTV cameras, providing both a deterrent as well as an important crime solving solution, thanks to the post-incident footage gathered by the system.

The physical presence of security patrols regularly checking the perimeter also provides a useful deterrent and an immediate response to incidents. Guards should also be on hand to man access points, in order to ensure only authorised personnel can gain entry to the site.

From a CCTV point of view, technological developments such as video analytics allow the automatic analysis of footage to generate useful information about the image content and issue alerts to security personnel should an incident occur. In theory, any action or ‘behaviour’ that can be seen and accurately defined on a video image can be automatically identified by a video analytics system, and the scope of this technology has led to its use in a variety of applications including intruder detection, people counting, smoke and fire detection and camera failure or sabotage detection.

Video
With the use of video analytics, refineries can improve efficiency of their staff by enabling security personnel to spend time away from the CCTV monitor to fulfill other security duties. Moreover, this technology highlights incidents as soon as they occur, allowing for remedial action to be taken before incidents have a chance to escalate to a more serious level.

Inside the perimeter, a well-thought out combination of manned and electronic security measures will again make sure all vulnerable areas are confidently secured. CCTV, alarms and access control measures that allow the monitoring and controlling of the through flow of people in designated areas, should all be in place, although the specific requirements will vary from site to site, depending on the type of threat and the vulnerabilities faced. This is where having on board a professional security consultancy proves its worth, as they will expertly take in consideration all of these individual requirements and advise on integrated and relevant solutions for their customers.

Securing pipes
Oil refineries, containers and extraction sites all require comprehensive security attention, however it is the sector’s distribution system that can be the most vulnerable and difficult to secure. Miles of pipelines run through often remote areas to transport the crude oil to refineries, or the refined product to its next destination for final delivery. For these locations, integration again plays a key role in a security strategy, to ensure any breaches across the length of the pipeline can be stopped and responded to.

With the increased threat faced by the industry, many companies are turning towards the creation of security strategies that are incorporate in the whole operation, and not only limited to a specific oil refinery or pipeline. This holistic approach means that major players in the industry are increasingly turning to expert security consultancies for the review and assessment of current security strategies, to inform more effective solutions that can be implemented across the board.

This is a way to ensure that all areas of the operation, from excavation to pipelining, refining and distribution, are given the same amount of consideration, albeit tailored specifically to each site’s requirements.

Talking to the expert
Security investment is a key consideration to be made for a sector as vulnerable as the oil one. Particularly areas such as oil refineries and pipelines can easily fall victim to criminals and vandals, however, although extensive security measures are available to improve the protection of these individual operations, putting in place company-wide plans that will take into considerations all sites and operations can ensure even more effective cover. Of course, in order to achieve this, the first step is that of seeking expert advice on what to do and how to approach such an important and demanding task. BSIA Security Consultancies are professionals and trustworthy companies who have experience securing the sector both at home in the UK and abroad. Their comprehensive approach to security ensures all vulnerabilities and opportunities are identified, whilst their expertise means they are best placed to advise the sector and assist with the implementation of the security strategies proposed.

Further Information
To find out more about the work of the section, visit the BSIA’s Security Consultancies website www.bsia.co.uk/security-consultancies