Why the new push behind the oil and gas sector?
G4S recognised that the upstream industry represents a growing and important market. Security is going to be a key consideration for the industry as it expands its footprint to produce new oil and gas. Today that focus is Iraq as the government opens its doors to international firms and consortiums to develop its reserve base, which will require a significant security component.
How extensive is your role in Iraq?
We have an operational presence in both North and South Iraq. We have developed local capabilities on the ground which oil and gas companies can utilise. We provide intelligence and security information which is tailored to the needs of companies looking to do business in Iraq. Educating our customers from their home base so that they are prepared and have some background training before they arrive in Iraq is useful too.
What do you mean by local capability?
When we talk of local capabilities one of the key elements of that is recruiting and training Iraqi’s and equipping them with appropriate skills, tools and the G4S ethos.
The governing factor here is the availability of getting high-calibre local resources. The company in general has developed a culture of hiring, training and promoting local individuals to management and supervisory roles.
That’s had a good track record for us for both language and cultural understanding issues.
What oilfield work is needed at this stage?
We support several of the supply convoys in Iraq, many of which include vital logistics supply lines for construction and reconstruction projects. In addition, we provide coverage for some of the oilfields which may still have mines and other ordnance which need clearing. As conditions in some places improve, the focus is moving away from armed support. There are areas within Iraq that offer a bigger security challenges, but that’s not just governed by location. Some activities are targeted more than others. Now that Iraq is entering a new phase of development we will see how that impacts the specific security targets. We see an emergence of National Oil Companies that have become partners in Iraq, such as Sonangol, CNPC, Gazprom and LukOil – So we see a combination of different players going in there, not just the supermajors.
Is this a steep learning curve for security firms?
The industry has always been involved in dealing with the challenge that the infrastructure for major oilfield developments entails. These projects can be spread out over a large area in often remote sites. Today, there are a lot of technologies that enable oil to be produced in a less distributed manner than in years gone by. For example, today from a single drilling location, wells can be drilled to 20 or 30 different parts of the reservoir through horizontal or directional drilling techniques. There are also technologies, such as radar or infra red sensors which can monitor infrastructure, such as pipelines, over a very wide area. What is important in this situation is to have a process in place to react quickly to that information, so that environmental impact is contained and kept to a minimum by dealing with the situation promptly.
In which areas do you anticipate work to start soon?
The oil and gas industry will, for the most part, have their HQs in the more heavily protected areas in Baghdad, such as the International Zone, but the oilfields are all over the countryside. We are developing a plan today to have support bases distributed around Iraq, which will be capable of supporting the various different activities, such as construction, seismic surveys, drilling activities etc.. This will evolve one step at a time, and will begin with the low hanging fruit for the industry.
Are you optimistic about the coming year in Iraq?
If we can help the oil industry produce these important resources we will be helping the Iraqi government generate the funding to run their economy in a much more efficient manner. Oil and gas represents the best opportunity for Iraq to come out of the situation they are in today.
