First defence

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Oil companies are deploying radical and complex solutions to protect production assets and workers.

The problem

The owners concerns were raised about operating in that particular area because there have been a number of piracy attacks in that region. Subsequently they looked at providing a level of security that could mitigate the effects of a pirate attack on the platform.

The International Maritime Bureau figures quoted herein define piracy as "An act of boarding any ship or offshore installation with the apparent intent to commit theft or any other crime and with the apparent intent or capability to use force in the furtherance of that act."

Though the overall number of attacks has been in decline, the incidence level, and the ferocity of those attacks is still much higher than a decade ago, and more than triple the levels experienced in the 1980s.

Since 1995 it is estimated that more than 3,200 vessel crew members were held hostage, while over 1,100 have been reported injured, killed or missing due to piracy incidents.

Whilst not particularly rampant in Middle Eastern waters compared to global hot spots such as Indonesia and Somalia, the international nature of offshore platforms means oil industry controlled and operated ships, rigs and platforms are equally vulnerable to vicious attacks.

The consequences of piracy are dire for its victims. In the first nine months of 2006, over a quarter of all reported piracy incidents were by attackers armed with guns, and another third were armed with long knives or machetes.

The same period saw 218 acts of violence against crew, including six confirmed deaths, 163 hostage takings, and over 20 kidnappings.

In the past where it may have been a small group boarding with a couple of pistols trying to make away with the ship's safe, the case now is that groups can be armed with machine guns or rocket propelled grenades.

The platform in question is roughly the size of a football field stacked three high, which may sound large, but this means people don't have far to run in the event of a security breach.

Also, even though safety standards have been met, with over 2 billion cubic metres worth of gas being processed every day, if there is an attack that triggers a massive release, it's almost impossible to predict exactly where that is going to go.

The solution

Presented by Randy Marek, automation section leader, J Ray McDermott Engineering.

We came up with the following parameters: The system should be able to defend all points from potential enemies. Attackers would look for weaknesses so these should be provided with adequate layers of security.

The attacker can choose the weakest point - so an audit was necessary of these. The attack may come at anytime.

For the oil company the rule of law dictates what can be done on our part, but its an important consideration that attackers are unlikely to be constrained in their efforts.

The project and execution was hugely significant because we had to protect the loss of assets, loss of production and potential loss of resources.

This particular facility is capable of producing 2 billion standard cubic metres per day at full production.

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