Sabotage and terrorist attacks on oil infrastructure have contributed to rising oil prices. The document discusses how terrorism targeting the oil industry has increased sharply since the 1990s, with 600 of 2600 total attacks in 2013 aimed at oil and gas installations. Effective communication and intelligence sharing between oil companies and government agencies is important for security. The document also provides examples of recent attacks in Nigeria, Iraq, Algeria and Libya that have disrupted oil production and exports.

1. OIL, TERRORISM and
GLOBALIZATION
Sabotage and direct terrorist attacks are raising the price of a
barrel of oil dramatically.

2. Article Selection
 I chose two articles for this presentation:
1.) CNN Money – “Hidden Force Behind Oil’s rise: Sabotage by Terrorists
2.) LinkedIn – “The Global Threat of Terrorism Targeting Oil and Gas Industries.
I chose the oil industry because my older brother works for
BP as a Ballast Control Engineer on an oil rig in the Gulf of
Mexico, which led me to considering the same line of work.
But also because of the ties to terrorism which have
interested me since enlisting in the U.S. Army

3. Article Summary
• The CNN article focuses on the connection between the rising price of a barrel of oil and the
time of a terrorist attack. It also lists some of the top oil-producing regions that are struggling
with security challenges at their oil production and processing facilities.
• The second article from LinkedIn deals with the threat itself. It talks about a number of diverse
threats including physical security at oil installations but also cyber attacks. It also gives a break
down of attacks from the 1990s to 2013 as well as the weaknesses at these installations.

4. OIL PRICE – A Global Factor
According to the CNN Money article “Oil prices have rallied recently to around $40 today from
$26 a barrel in mid-February.”
The article also mentions that the price could be contributed to freeze oil output by several
countries. But it also points out that “geo-political jitters” are “playing an important role”

5. OIL PRICE – A Global Factor
(cont.)
 Being that oil is a global commodity and thus its price fluctuation impacts
everything from a countries national strategy, down to the farmer simply trying to fill
the tank on his combine, communication is key. Who is producing what? How much
is being produced? Where is their production going? If I work for BP, or Shell, or
Marathon, how do I communicate with someone from the U.S, or Russia, or Iraq?
And quite possibly the most important communication aspect…Who does someone
talk to in regards to security of the oil?

6. Oil and Globalization
 This ties into globalization in a number of ways.
Organizational communication can help facilitate
relationships between nations and multi-national
corporations, down to communications within and to
each of their employees. These include messages,
relationships, as well as systems of understanding.

7. OIL and GLOBALIZATION
We live in a new, exciting, and changing world. Technology has literally brought the world
closer together. Transportation has exploded thanks to technological advancements.
Corporations have planes, trains, cars, helicopters, and quite possibly in the near
future…space faring vehicles. We have satellites, telecommunication systems, email, social
media, and smart phones. All of this has brought us closer together than ever before. A
corporation can have a video conference with eight different poeple located at eight different
parts of the globe! Decisions can be made, implemented and carried out within hours of
receiving instructions. All of this comes into play when talking about the oil industry.
Organizational communication is key in what can truly be considered a global undertaking.

8. Communication in the 21st
Century
 A corporation can have a video conference with eight different
poeple located at eight different parts of the globe! Decisions can
be made, implemented and carried out within hours of receiving
instructions. All of this comes into play when talking about the oil
industry. Organizational communication is key in what can truly be
considered a global undertaking.

9. Global Undertaking
Communication is an incredibly important part to this industry. This can be broken up into five key
phases:
1. Exploration – Corporations send teams of geologists and geophysicists to search beneath the
Earth’s service for oil and natural gas deposits. They travel all over the world and must be in
constant communication. They use satellites, helicopters, ships etc. Each individual unit must
communicate effectively.
2. Extraction – Once a site is located, extraction begins. This is normally done by drilling into the
ground and “tapping” the reservoir.
3. Refining – After the oil is pumped from beneath the surface it is sent to an industrial processing
plant. There it is refined into the many products we use (ex. Fuels, lubricating oils, asphalt, etc.)
4. Transportation – This is done through oil tankers, pipelines, and tanker trucks. Thousands of
ships and trucks, and miles of pipelines put the oil where it needs to go. All of this requires
communication, intricate systems to track the flow, and standards of how, when, and where it all
comes together.
5. Marketing – Finally, the product is sold. But where does it go? Who gets it? How much does it
cost? All of these questions must be answered, and organized communication between the
exploration teams, drilling teams, refining plants, and transportation is the only way to safeguard
against any number of catastrophes and shortages.

10. Oil and Terrorism
In the article from CNN Money, they highlight four nations that struggle with security and give an
example of an attack within that country.

11. Nigeria
 “an explosion on an
underwater pipeline
operated by Royal Dutch
Shell”
 The International Energy
Agency (IEA) estimates
that at least “250,000
barrels of oil per day” were
disrupted by the attack.

12. Iraq
 Regular sabotage has
caused a decline “by as
much as 320,000 barrels per
day”
 Because of repeated
attacks, revenue per month
has gone from $650 million
in January to $233 million in
February.
 While Iraq continues to
struggle with ISIS, oil
production has fallen by “as
much as 320,000 barrels per
day.

13. Algeria
Al Qaeda attacked a “natural gas field and processing plant”, forcing
BP and Statoil to “evacuate employees”
Algeria was also attacked back in 2013 that resulted in “dozens of
foreign workers” killed

14. Libya
 Because of attacks by militants allied to ISIS, only “two of the
country’s seven onshore loading terminals are operational.
 Because of this, Libya has only managed to pump 360,000 barrels
per day. Down considerably from the 1.6 million it has normally
produced.

15. Security and Communication
For this slide I’d like to focus on just one of those countries listed on
the previous slide: Iraq.
During a deployment to Iraq in 2010, my Infantry company actually
lived at the Baiji Oil Refinery in the Salah ad Din province. Security
was obviously a main concern, not only for our small patrol base about
the size of two football fields, but also for the refinery itself. We had to
consider how the multiple terror cells organized, recruited and
communicated to each other. We had to examine what type of
communication systems we could use and which of those would work
best at discouraging attacks. Everything from phones, sirens, radios,
and encrypted radios. We had to deal with Iraqi Police units, Iraqi
Army units, Iraq’s Ministry of Oil, the U.S. Embassy, and many others.
Whether in person and using interpreters, email, or phones there were
always a lot of moving parts and many different locations to
communicate with. Although we were able to stop many attempts on
the refinery, one attack did manage to cripple 70% of production for
several months.
Hitting golf balls at
some of the Liquid
Nitrogen Gas
containers at the
Refinery.

16. Security and Communication
(cont.)
 Although we were able to stop
many attempts on the refinery,
one attack did manage to cripple
70% of production for several
months.
Getting ready for a patrol with
one of the refinery’s flare
stacks behind me.

17. The Rise of Terror Attacks on
the Oil Industry
 In the LinkedIn article, it states that terrorist attacks that
target gas and oil sectors have “risen sharply”.
 During the 1990s attacks on oil installations counted for
less than 2.5% of all attacks. In 2013 however, 600 of
the 2600 total attacks were on oil and natural gas
related installations.

18. Best Practices
 The article also says that one of the best things any Oil and Gas corporation can do is to
establish “proper mechanisms for intelligence and information sharing”
 It also states that companies should “cooperate with state agencies in information sharing”.
 Sharing of information in order to protect oil facilities is no doubt important, but how do you do
it? The obvious answer is communication. Maintaining contact with any number of agencies,
talking to each other about threats and precautions. More often than not, this leads to a safer
working environment, as well as number of attacks thwarted.

19. Questions
A number of questions arise when you consider organizational communication and how it can assist
a global industry with multiple corporations, nations, and millions of people in accomplishing its goal:
providing energy for a planet.
1. How can we prevent fear from creeping into our decision-making process? By that I mean being
afraid of one another, or of a particular region.
2. How do we utilize new technologies in communication (video conference, satellites, etc.) to
ensure a safer work environment for the employees.
3. Lastly, and in my opinion most important: what is the best way to utilize those communication
systems, as well as create new ones, that can facilitate more protection for the ones that come
after an attack? In other words, the police, fire, and medical, as well as military units that are
called upon to assist in injuries, fire suppression, and external security once an attack has taken
place.
These three questions, and many more, must all be answered if we are to ensure safer methods of
getting oil, and also in minimizing loss of life.

20. Works Cited
 "Terrorists Fueling the Dramatic Rise in Oil Prices." CNNMoney. Cable
News Network, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.
http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/29/investing/oil-prices-terrorists-iraq-
nigeria/
 Tyagi, SB. "The Global Threat of Terrorism Targeting Oil and Gas
Industries." LinkedIn, 13 Jan. 2016. Web.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/global-threat-terrorism-targeting-oil-gas-
industries-sb
 Miller, Katherine. Organizational Communication: Approaches and
Processes. 7th ed. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2015. Print.