Terror threats on Canadian oilpatch worth watching

[GAP]

Terror threats on Canadian oilpatch worth watching, security expert says
James Gordon, CanWest News Service; Ottawa Citizen Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Article Link

OTTAWA - A recent call by al-Qaida to attack Canadian, Mexican and Venezuelan oil interests as an indirect strike against the U.S. economy doesn't represent a "clear and present danger" to the country, but those who ignore it do so at their own peril, a leading terrorism expert said Monday.

Jack Williams, a law professor at Georgia State University and special adviser to the U.S. government on intelligence and security issues, said such threats are graded on a spectrum from the lunatic fringe to the detailed and thoughtful analysis from top jihadist thinkers.

In an interview following his presentation at a critical infrastructure protection conference hosted by Carleton University's Canadian Centre of Intelligence and Security Studies, Williams suggested the latest threat on Canadian oil interests falls somewhere in between.
More on link

 

[BernDawg]

Did the authorities not track down a couple of people with ties to the 9/11 crew living in Ft Macmurray?  Makes you wonder doesn't it?  ???

 

[nowhere_man]

Your in Rural Alberta I'm sure that there are more than a few guys with a rifle or two in their work trucks.  ;D

 

[foresterab]

This however has been going on for 10-15 years.  Do a search for environmental terrorism and you'll find references to well shacks being shot up, bombs, vandalism, arson, and in one case...a 16 year old girl was killed.

Terrorism does not have to be motivated by religion.  For this reason one of the key groups the US FBI watches is a fanatic environmental organization in the western US who opposed development of mother earth.  Wish I could recall the name of the group right now.  But in Alberta just do a search for Ludwig, Hythe, Vandalism....

I know for a fact many oil and gas operators in that area have recieved basic bomb detection training so that they can call in trapped sites.

And the reference for guys with the rifles in the work trucks....been there with the rifle in my face.  Not so cool and sure didn't help the situation

 

[Colin Parkinson]

I would expect that the domestic threat currently outweighs the foreign threat. Domestically there are two “factions”
1. Radical environmental groups, who would use an attack to gain media attention.
2. Local people dissatisfied with the Energy Industry and it’s effect on rural lifestyle/livelihood
Most of the attacks have been the later group, worried about sour gas, loss of water access and general health concerns.  I deal with the Industry quite a bit, some companies are very good at working with the communities, but some are arrogant pricks that cause all sorts of grief. Water will be a major issue, the oil industry uses a astonishing amount of water and that means less water for farmers and their livestock, if there is a flashpoint in the prairies this is it. 

 

[RWA]

2. Local people dissatisfied with the Energy Industry and it’s effect on rural lifestyle/livelihood
Most of the attacks have been the later group, worried about sour gas, loss of water access and general health concerns.  I deal with the Industry quite a bit, some companies are very good at working with the communities, but some are arrogant pricks that cause all sorts of grief. Water will be a major issue, the oil industry uses a astonishing amount of water and that means less water for farmers and their livestock, if there is a flash point in the prairies this is it. 

I think it be unlikely for non-Islamic terrorist to attack the oil patch (not impossible but unlikely) because the oil patch help pays for farmer's subsidies, employs local people, a boost to local economies, some of the environment problems are being addressed and they have Ed Stelmach as Premier who is from rural Alberta. So it's hardly a flash point on the prairies Colin P. 

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Except that it's already happened and will happen again depending on the level of discontent. There are lots of rural people that pissed with the oil & gas industry. Here in BC you get disputes between the forestry companies and oil & gas companies. The oil & gas guys are hard on the roads and where not gettin SUP to use the forestry roads (Special Use Permits) Plus the fact that the forest companies had to submit a 5 year development plan and then have have the O&G Industry saunter in and say we want to build a road in 2 months, hasn't sat well with many people. some of the companies that have set up long term infrastructure have been working hard to improve relations, but the exploration companies have been the worst offenders.

 

[foresterab]

You would think that RWA...

However history has shown us otherwise.  What occurs may be vocal/literature protests similar to what you seen in BC and anti-logging but there are also fanatics who do not care what actions occur.


http://www.ualberta.ca/~parkland/post/Vol-IV-No3/12urquart.html

This is an article that references the best known case I'm aware of.  A rural, small town community where tensions escalated to the point where a night time joy ride ended up with two teenagers shot...one of whom died of injuries at 16 years of age.  To say this is not occurring is definitely false!

Tensions rise from everything over downwind odors and hog farms/sour gas wells to water rights for grazing and oil production.  Conflict is constant and is unfortunately only increasing as the population grows.  In the past year alone I know of several officers who were assaulted for just driving into campsites to check on permits....

You can say this in not terrorism...but violence does sometimes escalate till it reaches the level referenced in the article.

 

[foresterab]

Following up on ColinP's comments...

While BC operations for oil and gas maybe be approved within two months in Alberta even less time occurs.

Forestry operations in Alberta have the same planning horizon as in BC...but the two month referall window in BC is only 5 days in Alberta.  That means that from the time the application is recieved in the field office to the time of approval or rejection only 5 buisness days are supposed to occur.  Given that it is common to have to review 20 applications in a day plus do field inspections and handle intergration with timber, grazing, recreation, gravel, water issues, first nations, wildlife, public values, historical values, municipalities....

Conflict occurs and is increasing as people view the lack of input into resource decisions with more and more frusteration. 

Some companies are very proactive in oil and gas or forestry or gravel....some are downright terrible.  That's the nature of buisnesses.  However talk to the folks in Northern Alberta who have crumbling or gravel highways, zero occupancy rates, are short teachers/doctors/nurses/land managers and can't find folks willing to move for the wages....and you'll see what folks mean.  For comparison sake...Edmonton is noticably cheaper and it's easy to find rental accomidation compared to many northern towns even given all the recent price gains.  Given all the stresses from the red hot economy it's just gas to the fires of discontent...