6. Oilfield Security in Mexico
Elements
Overview
Understand the Culture
FCPA
Ethics
Build Your Team
Checks and Balances
Security
7. Oilfield Security in Mexico
• Overview – Mexico
• Population 117,248,428
• 78% reside in towns over 2,500 – 12% in towns less than 2,500
• Per capita income $3,156 (U.S.)
• Is not homogeneous
• Not all of Mexico is unsafe
• Every area has its own risk levels and social issues
• Has a literacy rate of 98% (Unesco)
• Unemployment rate 4.33% (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía)
• Murder rate 22 per 100,000
• Kidnap capital of the world – Less than 10% reported – Est. Over 100,000 in
2014
8. Oilfield Security in Mexico
• Understand the Culture
• Train your U.S. team before your start planning operations
• There are cultural differences
• 75% of the country is Roman Catholic
• Mexicans are nationalistic
• Titles and position are extremely important
• Etiquette and correct decorum are central to behavior
• Employees avoid confrontation
• Employees do not like to make waves
• Separating work from personal relationships is difficult
• Diplomatic answers are more common than straight answers
9. Oilfield Security in Mexico
• Ejidos
• Under President Lázaro Cárdenas in 1934 land reform was initiated
• Landless farmers petitioned the government for to create an ejido in their
area
• An ejido is an area of communal land used for agriculture on which
community members individually possess and farm a specific parcel
• Ejidos are registered with Mexico’s Registro Agrario Nacional
• Ejidatarios do not actually own the land – they use the parcels indefinitely as
long as the land is not unproductive for more than 2 years
• Because of low productivity, President Carlos Salinas de Gortari eliminated
the constitutional rights of ejidos in 1991
• Existing ejidos were not disbanded and much rural land in the south is still
part of the ejido system (Tabasco has 805 ejidos)
11. Oilfield Security in Mexico
•FCPA
• Training has to be ongoing for your team
• It must be relevant to what you are doing
• Use specific examples
• Have an FCPA hotline to answer questions and to report violations
• Make certain that your managers own FCPA compliance
• Incorporate the new Mexican anti-corruption laws into your training
14. Oilfield Security in Mexico
• Ethics
• Mexico has a history of corruption
• Success in Mexico is dependent on how well you can implement a culture of
honesty and transparency
• Ethics training starts at the top and should be a shared experience
• Ethics training should be monthly and scheduled with Safety meetings
• It must be relevant
• It must encourage group participation
• Establish 24/7 Ethics Line
• If your employees do not take ownership of your ethics policy you WILL have
ongoing internal issues
16. Oilfield Security in Mexico
•Build your team
•Security does not exist in a vacuum
• Team members
• Human Resources
• Legal
• Operations
• Internal Audit
• Safety
• Security
17. Keep your lines of communications open
Staff functions should report to the
Corporate Office
NOT the Country Manager
18. Oilfield Security in Mexico
•Checks and Balances
• Audit your programs
• Human Resources – randomly check backgrounds
• Purchasing – every quarter verify some vendors
• Report cards – use key indicators every month to spot issues
• Share report cards with supervisors and managers
• Hold people accountable
22. Oilfield Security in Mexico
•Security
• Elements
• Risk Assessment
• Physical Security
• Personnel Security
23. Oilfield Security in Mexico
• Risk Assessment
• Intelligence
• Meet with peers who are operating in the area
• Arrange meetings with local military commanders and federal police
• If you use a consultant, make certain he has operated in your area
• Where are you operating?
• Natural hazards – hurricanes, earthquakes
• Social Issues
• What are you protecting?
• Local Incidents – just because crimes are not reported does not mean they
aren’t occurring (Mexico is the most dangerous country for journalists in the
world – many crimes and issues are never reported)
25. Oilfield Security in Mexico
• Intelligence Sources
• OSAC
• ASIS International
• CLAM (Comite Local de Acción Mutua)
• Consultants
• Military and Law Enforcement
• Newspapers
• Contacts
• Employees
• Private Intelligence Services
26. Oilfield Security in Mexico
• Physical Security
• Offices and Bases
• Hardening your target
• Gates
• Fences
• Lights
• Good perimeter and interior lighting is critical
• Electronics
• Remotely activated alarms and strobes are strong deterrents
• CCTV – does not prevent attacks
• It does record critical areas
• It does provide remote viewing and audits
• Guards
27. Oilfield Security in Mexico
•Harding your target
• You can’t out gun the cartels
• You can control entry and egress
• Intercoms
• Gates
• Mantraps
• Bullet resistant guardhouses
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31. Oilfield Security in Mexico
Guards are the most under
utilized resource in Mexico
32. Oilfield Security in Mexico
• Guards
• Select a guard company with a presence where you operate
• Set the standards for guards
• Candidates (ex-military preferred)
• Training
• Wages
• Uniforms – should be professional and set an image
• Make your guards part of your team
• Meet with your guards once a month
• They should receive your company’s training
• Safety
• Ethics
• Use your guard service to provide weekly and monthly management reports
33. Oilfield Security in Mexico
• Vehicle Security
• All vehicles must have GPS tracking devices and be monitored by a central
station
• No employee can be allowed to disconnect a GPS device
• Advertise on each vehicle that it is monitored
• Paint your vehicles in a very distinctive manner
• In socially sensitive areas, some companies keep a lower profile
• All drivers should take and pass a company driving course at least annually
• Penalties for not reporting accidents, even minor scrapes must be severe and
uniformly enforced
• Driving at night should be forbidden unless there is an emergency and strict
security protocols adhered to
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37. Oilfield Security in Mexico
• Personnel Security
• Background checks are essential
• Try to avoid hiring people from the same family
• Build your lines of communication with Human Resources
• DO NOT hire anyone with connections to organized crime
• Emphasize: NO ONE should be paid for employment
• New employee orientation is critical (company values)
• All incidents should be immediately investigated
• All rumors and anonymous information should be reported and evaluated
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39. Oilfield Security in Mexico
• Protecting your people and assets in the field
• Management should receive a weekly field risk assessment report
• Physical security standards must be set and maintained
• Guards must immediately report any physical security violations
• Inspect, Inspect, Inspect
• Mangers must receive periodic physical security training
• As conditions change, training must be updated
• Field security begins with your perimeter
40. Oilfield Security in Mexico
• Rig Security
• Security must conduct a survey of each new rig site
• Perimeter
• Guards must control access
• At night, the perimeter must be illuminated
• Armored Safe Houses
• Fire extinguishers
• External Antennas for cellular and satellite communications
• Electronics
• Remotely controlled sirens and strobes lights are very effective deterrents
• CCTV cameras DO NOT deter attacks
• Patrols
