Oil and gas: Security challenges facing each sector of the industry

The oil and gas industry is one of the most important in a nation’s economy. The industry is typically divided into the up-, mid- and downstream sectors, each with certain pain points and difficulties. This articles looks at the security challenges facing each sector of the oil and gas industry and solutions needed to address them.
 

Upstream

 
The upstream sector of the oil and gas industry refers to the initial stage of oil and gas production. Also known as exploration and production (E&P), this initial stage entails drilling wells, both onshore and offshore, to bring oil and natural gas to the surface.
 
“Upstream locations are the most vulnerable sites associated with oil and gas operations because the exploration, mining, and gathering sites are usually located in remote areas with minimum network connectivity. This poses significant challenges for protecting sites from theft or destruction of equipment on upstream sites,” said Clay Cassard, VP of Global Enterprise Mobile Video, NA Critical Infrastructure and Carriers at Motorola Solutions.
 
In this regard, advanced video surveillance solutions that allow remote monitoring can play a decisive role
 
“In the past, these sites had minimum to no communications with oil and gas operations centers. However, now with the availability of satellite connectivity and/or 5G/LTE, companies are able implement video analytics on cloud-based video management systems or access on-premises networked video recorders (NVR) to view events in real-time and provide immediate response or communicate with the site via talk-down speakers,” Cassard said.
 
“Oil and gas extraction sites are often remote and unmanned, making them highly vulnerable to physical security threats. Remote operations require security solutions to manage and monitor these locations from a distance. A reliable VMS system can provide necessary remote control capabilities, streamlining operations and providing the upstream segment with the alarm and incident management they need to ensure around-the-clock protection. With the ability to operate security solutions remotely, companies reduce the risk to personnel,” said Greg Colaluca, GM of Intellicene.
 

Midstream

 
The midstream sector of the oil and gas industry entails the transportation and delivery of crude oil and natural gas. Theft and vandalism against oil pipelines are some of the security threats facing this sector and can lead to dire consequences. For example, an illegal pipeline tap in Mexico in 2016 caused 4,000 barrels of oil to leak into the San Juan River, incurring losses as well as endangering the water supply for surrounding residents and farmers. Security solutions in this sector range from sensors to drones to integrated security platforms.
 
“Midstream security can basically be divided into two. The first is pipeline security and the second is transportation by vehicles. By using different types of sensors like cameras and fiber optic cables along the pipelines, the entire security of the line can be ensured. For vehicles, security can be provided with vehicle tracking systems and sensors to be placed in vehicles and vehicle perimeter security,” said Burak Ince, PSIM Product Manager at InfoDif.
 
“The challenge of securing pipelines, vessels, and vehicles against attack is similar to protecting upstream infrastructure. For example, pipelines are often routed through remote and harsh terrain and span very long distances, also presenting connectivity issues. This can make seamless monitoring difficult (dust, heat, and cold can impair camera performance and detection) and costly. In recent years autonomous drones have increasingly been tried and tested for security, safety, and compliance applications; however, to be effective they need to be embedded into a physical security ecosystem. Without this important step, they generate siloed information that is not actionable or conducive to achieving positive outcomes. These video management challenges can be overcome with a VMS capable of working offline/standalone,” said Andreas Conrad, VP of Marketing, Physical Security at the Safety, Infrastructure and Geospatial Division of Hexagon.
 

Downstream

 
Finally, the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry denotes the final stage of the industry, where crude oil and natural gas are refined and processed into usable products. Theft and other criminal activities against refineries can result in heavy losses. A series of theft were reported at Shell’s biggest global refinery in Singapore, in which around US$150 millions' worth of oil was stolen.
 
Integrated solutions again can effectively address issues facing operators in this sector. “Refineries require a fully integrated physical security ecosystem in order to be effective. This includes the core systems of access control, video, intrusion detection, PSIM, and ideally dispatch. Innovative new technologies such as LiDAR-based 3D surveillance are worth considering as they provide a higher level of security than traditional intrusion detection or perimeter protection systems,” Conrad said.