Feral Jundi

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Colombia: Oil Companies Say Security Is Government’s Job, And The Defense Minister Disagrees

Filed under: Colombia,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 3:57 PM

“It’s impossible to maintain any longer our current security plan–one that was effective years ago when there were very few oil companies and fields to care for,” the minister said Tuesday. “There are now 130 oil companies out there.”

Very interesting news in Colombia. Lately there has been a spike in energy sector attacks by ELN and FARC. They are successful because they have reduced the size of their attack forces, which then helps them to attack more targets and thin out the government forces assigned to stop them. The ‘few and the many’ from the new rules of war comes to mind. Also, it is very easy for this few and many force to go on the offensive and cause damage. Just look at what MEND was able to accomplish in Nigeria?

“Before there were movements that were more massive,” Gutierrez said. “Now clearly it’s more individuals and cells, which is a different presence from what it used to be.”

Now combine these tactics with a highly dispersed government force trying to cover down on 130 oil companies and all of their infrastructure/people, and you can see why the defense minister would want the oil companies to pay for their own security. To help the government out because there are just too many people and things to protect against such a dispersed force.

Another thing I wanted to mention is that these oil companies need to realize that Colombians are paying for their protection, as they make oodles of money selling that stuff all over the world. That world market for oil will increase if Iran is attacked or nations fall to revolution.

So to me, this is a classic case where the oil industry will fight to keep getting their good deal and ‘free government security’.  I say make them pay for their own security so the government’s police and military can focus on serving the people and not just serving oil companies. Just a thought.

Also, these attacks coincide with another big development. Colombia is auctioning off 109 oil blocks to international oil companies. The value of those blocks depend upon how secure they are. Who wants to buy an oil block that is in a dangerous area, which would then equate to more risk and more cost?  So security of these sites is crucial to Colombia in order to get more action and attention in these auctions. The FARC and the ELN know this, hence why they are increasing attacks.

But back to private security. Colombia should continue to press the issue of getting PSC’s back in the game there. The companies should be investing in their own security. I compare it to these shipping companies that want the government to pay for all of their security in pirate infested waters, or depending on government to save the day. Hopefully Colombia’s defense minister can press the issue. –Matt

 

Oil companies in Colombia say security is government’s job
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Dan Molinski
The head of an association of multinational oil companies operating in Colombia said Wednesday it’s the government’s job, and not that of the companies themselves, to provide security to oil workers and infrastructure against rebel attacks.
“We as a sector understand very clearly that security will be provided exclusively by the state,” Alejandro Martinez, president of the Colombian Oil Association, told Caracol Radio.
Martinez’s comments come one day after Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera said the sharp growth in Colombia’s oil sector has made it impossible for military and police to adequately protect all oil installations, many of which are located in remote regions near guerrilla strongholds.
The defense minister said oil companies need their own private security forces to help government troops combat a wave of attacks and kidnappings by Marxist rebels that has threatened to derail the oil industry’s four-year growth spurt.

(more…)

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Afghanistan: Quran Burning, Shooting Incident, Afghans Killing Troops And Contractors……And Who Said The APPF Was A Good Idea?

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 3:39 PM

I hope it is obvious to the readership here about my disdain for this APPF concept. It is a horrible idea and it will lead to folks getting killed or hurt. I would like to be wrong on this, but there are just too many factors building up to make it a really bad idea in this current environment.

Karzai is a corrupt leader and this force will be a tool to feed his corruption. Does anyone really think that the APPF will be the type of government sponsored security force that will really do a good job for the companies it is assigned too?  Does anyone really think that the APPF will do better than the police or military when it comes to competency or service? Does anyone think they will have any real recourse if a guard is caught using drugs or stealing from the company they are assigned to protect?  Think about it….because this force answers to Karzai and not to you the client and consumer of this forced service.

Also, why even create a separate force?  Just assign military and police to protect these companies, because at least they would have somewhat better training and competency than this force. But not much.

But the really big one here is that these companies will have Afghans with guns protecting them.  With the Quran burning incident and the latest shooting incident where a soldier went on a killing spree in a village, the environment for companies will not be that favorable. With these recent developments, Afghans have been killing western forces or enemy sympathizers have found their way into the system to make attacks. Politicians like Karzai are not helping things either with their outbursts against the west, and of course the Taliban is in the back just stirring the pot and loving it. That is the reality.

The other one that kills me is this fake re-assuring tone that some of these companies are communicating after signing these contracts with the APPF. Louis Berger-Black and Veatch made a classic statement.

“We welcome this security transition as a natural step for Afghanistan,” said Bill Haight, representing the Louis Berger – Black and Veatch joint venture.

Oh really?  lol And meanwhile companies are writing the New York Times and telling them how paranoid they are about this whole deal–and rightly so. Just read the article below. Here is another quote that says it all.

The executive also said he and others at his company’s Washington headquarters knew that some employees in Afghanistan were keeping weapons in their rooms in case their compounds were attacked, and that management had so far turned a blind eye to the practice, which goes against local law.

That stems from the idea that this company’s employees do not trust a force like the APPF to protect them, and they are probably paranoid about an APPF guard shooting them. That is what happens when you do not have a trusted force of western security that can come between you and your contracted local force.

That is the appropriate combination to have, and now with the APPF, it will be all local guards with very little insurance against them–if they decide to turn or had enemy combatants within their ranks.

On the brighter side, if you are wanting to track the progression of the APPF, then check out NATO’s website dedicated to training. They have posted quite a bit about the APPF, to include those companies signing contracts and gaining licenses to use this force.

If you have anything to add to this, definitely voice your concerns here because it will be read. I have yet to see any real comments posted at the NATO site with posts that discuss the APPF. But definitely comment there so they can read your concerns. Keep up the pressure with your company as well, and don’t let your safety become a non-issue. Also continue to communicate with the ISOA and with your elected officials in the US about your concerns. –Matt

 

Security Fears Lead Groups to Rethink Work in Afghanistan
By MATTHEW ROSENBERG and GRAHAM BOWLEY
March 10, 2012
WASHINGTON — The management at a company that does aid and development work for the American government knows that some of its employees in Afghanistan are keeping weapons in their rooms — and is choosing to look the other way. At another company in the same business, lawyers are examining whether the company can sue the United States Agency for International Development for material breach of contract, citing the deteriorating security in Afghanistan.
An Afghan government plan to abolish private security companies at the end of this month, along with the outbreak of anti-American demonstrations and attacks in the past month, has left the private groups that carry out most of the American-financed development work in Afghanistan scrambling to sort out their operations, imperiling billions of dollars in projects, officials say.

(more…)

Law Enforcement: Dozens Of Firms Register Interest In £1.5bn UK Police Support Contracts

Filed under: Industry Talk,Law Enforcement,United Kingdom — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 2:40 PM

Chris Sims, the West Midlands chief constable, said: “This is not about taking away the core responsibility for policing away from officers. I want to be clear that where a police power is needed a police officer will carry out that duty.
“The backbone of the service will remain unchanged but we are committed to finding a long-term transformational solution that is more cost-effective and improves the service we deliver,” said Sims.
“Our values remain at the heart of the service and our priority is to put the public first in everything we do.”

I will have to warn you that this is a Guardian article. lol But if you can look beyond that, this is interesting news. There is much debate going on about this, and it is a classic public versus private debate. You can also see that the unions are rallying around how dangerous of an idea this is and really pushing the narrative of that.

Personally, I think it is a great idea. Because this looks more like a public private partnership than a complete privatization of police work in the UK. The duties these companies will be performing are totally in line with what private industry can accomplish and accel at. Just look at what Bruce Power SWAT accomplished?  Look at how massively large and successful G4S is?  In both cases, private security and related administrative duties can definitely provide value to the client.

Best of all, these police departments can fire a company if it is a poor performer or if they violated the contract. A private company has incentive to do well in that kind of environment and they will fight to do it better/faster/cheaper than the next guy. That versus a government force who has no ‘real’ incentive to perform well–because there is no one that competes with them. Check it out.

My one bit of advice for these police departments is to ensure they have a strong contracting officer corps that can monitor and manage these contracts to the fullest extent. A contracting corps armed with a contract and policy that answers as many of the issues of principal agent problem as possible. That means having folks dedicated to holding these private companies accountable and ensuring the tax payer and local community does in fact get a good value for their pound sterling. –Matt

 

Police privatisation: dozens of firms register interest in £1.5bn contract
Surrey and West Midlands forces invite bids for services including investigating crimes and detaining suspects
By Alan Travis
Tuesday 13 March 2012
Delegates from private security companies were attending a “bidders’ conference” on Tuesday for a £1.5bn contract to run a wide range of policing services in the West Midlands and Surrey.
The contract notice drawn up for the groundbreaking contract invites bids from the private sector for services that include investigating crimes, detaining suspects and managing high-risk offenders.
The widely drawn West Midlands/Surrey contract notice says that all those services that can “be legally delegated to the private sector” have been put on the table while “preserving the integrity of the office of constable”.
The West Midlands police authority says there are “many household names” among the 64 firms but has declined to name any of them. Potential bidders will hear both chief constables and the outgoing chairmen of the West Midlands and Surrey police authorities detail the procurement process and outline what they hope to achieve from the “business partnership programme”.

(more…)

Monday, March 12, 2012

Industry Talk: East Africa Hits It Big In Oil, Gas Boom

Filed under: Africa,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 3:59 PM

Lately I have been on an energy security kick. There is a lot of money in oil and gas, and the demand is only going higher. Not to mention that things are not very stable in the middle east, so a diversification of sources is in high demand. So how does this impact our industry?

Well for one, security of these wild cat companies that are searching and drilling on land and sea for oil/gas need security partners. These companies are willing to take the risks because the money is there, and capable private security companies are there to help them get there. That last part is important to note, just because thanks to ten plus years of war, we now have companies in this industry who know how to protect people and things in war zones. And especially in war zones that are populated with jihadists….a particularly wicked type of adversary.

These jihadists are also targeting anything to do with the west, to include oil and gas exploration. I wrote about this in my prior post about oil companies being targeted by jihadists in Somalia. Today’s war veterans and contractor veterans know this enemy very well, and they also know how to set up the security of a site to deal with this type of threat.

I also wanted to bring up this quote as a clue to the potential in this industry.

Still, major oil companies are falling over themselves to grab a stake in East Africa, largely by buying out smaller wildcat outfits which made major strikes.
One of these is Cove Energy, a London-listed company. It put itself up for sale in January after reporting one of the world’s largest natural gas strikes in a decade, a field off Mozambique containing an estimated 15 trillion-30 trillion cubic feet of gas, more than Norway’s entire reserves.
On Feb. 22, Royal Dutch Shell offered $1.6 billion for Cove’s 8.5 percent stake in the highly promising Block 4. Four days later Thailand’s state-owned energy company PTT Exploration and Production stepped in with a $1.7 billion bid. On Sunday, India’s state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. offered $2 billion.

If you are a private security company that specializes in Africa, then partnering with one of these ‘smaller wild cat’ oil exploration companies could be quite profitable. Any contract with such a company should include a percentage of the profits for the operation, or when the company is sold to a larger oil company. More risk should equal more reward, and hopefully PSC’s are fully realizing the potential in these contracts.(and why not do a profit share with your security contractors doing the work and taking the risk out in the field as well? hint hint)

The other industry angle with this oil and gas boom in East Africa (and West Africa) is that piracy will be increasing as interest in Africa oil increases. There is just too much money floating around on the high seas for pirates or even jihadists to ignore. Hostage taking on land and sea will increase as well, and especially if it is oil executives or engineers crucial to the operation of these sites.

One tangent I would like to quickly expand upon is rare earth minerals. I have to imagine that Africa has sources of minerals not yet discovered, that will be vital for these growing and hungry economies of the west and east. All the stuff that goes into computers or phones, the magnets used in electric/hybrid vehicle motors or in weapons like guided missiles, or gold and silver, are all much needed by all of the industrialized nations of the world. The protection of these mining operations and the protection of the transport of this stuff, are all areas that this industry handles. Especially with mineral finds that pop up in war zones.

Interesting stuff and it is definitely an area of this industry that we should all be paying attention too. Keep your eyes peeled for energy security related work and for new discoveries. –Matt

 

East Africa hits it big in oil, gas boom
Feb. 29, 2012
East Africa is emerging as the new hot zone for oil and natural gas exploration, with major discoveries by Anadarko of the United States and Italy’s Eni in the Indian Ocean off Mozambique and by Norway’s Statoil off neighboring Tanzania.
Even war-wracked Somalia, further north in the Horn of Africa, is part of the drive for energy resources in the region, with a Canadian company, Africa Oil, expecting to start producing within the next couple of months in the northern autonomous enclave of Puntland.
But the big prize there is the offshore oil and gas fields that Somali officials say contain more than 100 billion barrels of oil, more than Kuwait. If that’s the case, Somalia, torn by war since 1991, would become the seventh largest oil nation.

(more…)

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Kenya: Private Security Grows In Response To Pirates

Filed under: Industry Talk,Kenya — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 12:46 PM

This is a great little clip of some hard charging Kenyan security professionals. Although it is obvious that the guys in the background are doing drills like that to perform as background for the interview– or dog and pony shows to promote the company. lol

If you are interested in further investigations into the Kenyan security market, here is a link to the KSIA mentioned in the beginning. –Matt

 

« Newer Posts — Older Posts »

Powered by WordPress