24th
March 2007
Al
Qaeda terrorists may be plotting attacks against oil
facilities and personnel in Africa and the Middle East,
intelligence sources have revealed.
If successful, such attacks could disrupt
the petroleum market, send gas prices skyrocketing and
unsettle the global economy.
Based on intelligence gleaned from
intercepted communications by known al Qaeda operatives,
U.S. and European intelligence officials have issued
"very detailed warnings" to oil companies with
operations in Algeria, Nigeria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia to
protect their equipment and employees.
Messages on Internet chat boards used by
al Qaeda have deepened officials' concerns that the
terrorist group may attempt an attack soon.
Terror threats against oil suppliers are
common, but these threats are considered more
significant because they are targeting suppliers outside
of the Persian Gulf, says Anne Korin of the Institute
for Analysis and Global Security, a non-profit group
focusing on energy and security. "They're moving their
scope of attack beyond the Persian Gulf to a really
global oil infrastructure," she says.
Korin calls the current world oil market
"exceedingly tight" and says a successful attack in any
of the major oil markets could send oil prices to more
than $100 a barrel and gas to $5 a gallon.
"Al Qaeda and its affiliates understand
that the oil supply chain really is the lifeline for the
global economy," says Korin.
Oil companies are combating the threats
by using high security. But in some unstable regions,
like the Niger Delta in Nigeria, companies have opted to
shut down some operations as oil workers have become as
much a target as tankers.
"We see lots of attacks against personnel
working in the oil industry from kidnappings to murders
to outright assassinations of critical personnel," says
Korin.
