The abortive terrorist attack on Saudi Arabias giant Abqaiq oil processing complex in February 2006 and more recent direct threats by al-Qa'ida against oil infrastructure have highlighted the challenges faced by the Saudi authorities as they seek to maintain their reputation for secure and reliable oil production and exports to global markets. The announcement in July that the Interior Ministry had started recruiting a new 35,000-strong Facilities Security Force (FSF), which is being trained and equipped by US defense firms, is the latest phase of a strategy aimed at hardening Saudi Arabias resistance to the internal terrorist threat and broader regional ones. But the scale of the latest security initiative is immense, and several years are likely to elapse until the new force is fully capable, MEES understands.
Saudi Arabias senior policy-makers have for years recognized the enduring threat to domestic energy security posed by home-grown and regional terrorism. Asked during the past year about oil and gas security measures in the kingdom, Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi said he expected attempts to disrupt the Saudi oil sector to continue. As he told an audience in the US last year, the threat from terrorism to the worlds energy infrastructure is not limited to any one country or region. We must all be vigilant and prepared to protect our facilities from those deviants whose aim is to disrupt the flow of energy to the worlds economy.
Mindful of the sustained internal terrorist threat, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz told the Shura Council on 1 July that the Interior Ministry was establishing the FSF with a remit to protect not just oil and gas infrastructure (oil processing plants, pipelines, refineries, storage tanks and export terminals) but also power and water facilities and other major industrial assets including petrochemicals, metals and other industries. The nascent force will operate under the umbrella of the Interior Ministrys Higher Commission for Industrial Security, which is chaired by Prince Naif, but will report directly to his son Prince Muhammad ibn Naif who, as Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs, holds the counter-terrorism/insurgency brief within government.
MEES understands that, to date, the authorities have recruited around 5,000 members of the FSF, with the aim of raising this to 8,000-10,000 over the next two years as an interim target. But the governments decision to recruit from outside the ranks of the existing Saudi armed forces and security services has necessarily slowed the process. It has been decided that the FSF will operate entirely separately from the National Guard, army, navy, air force and other state security organizations. The requirement to vet individual applicants and the intensive training of the force means that the gradual build-up in numbers cannot easily be telescoped, according to sources familiar with the project. Aside from the new FSF, Saudi Arabia maintains a 75,000-strong Army, an Air Force of 18,000, a Navy of 15,500 and an Air Defense Force of 16,000. These formal armed forces are on top of the 75,000-man National Guard, a tribal force loyal to the Al Sa?ud ruling family.
US Equipment/Training
FSF recruits are being trained by US defense giant Lockheed Martin on behalf of the Albuquerque, New Mexico-based Sandia National Laboratories Defense Systems and Assessments Unit a government run unit linked to Lockheed. The force is being equipped and trained by Lockheed in the use of state-of-the art defense technology including laser security and satellite imaging to help protect installations and the kingdoms extensive oil and gas pipeline network. Lockheed and Sandias involvement with the project was the result of Saudi requests for security advice through the US State Department and the Department of Energy. Nevertheless the overall project is a Saudi-government-led and directed initiative. Although the government has been reluctant to spell out the cost of the FSF project, the bill is expected to run into billions of dollars, accounting for a very sizeable component of Saudi Aramcos defense spending. While the main focus of attention for the FSF will be the cluster of oil, gas and petrochemical facilities in the Eastern Province, the FSF will also be deployed elsewhere in the kingdom, particularly at west coast sites in Yanbu' and Jiddah. Sandia last week was not available for comment on the project.
Commitment To Oil Supply Security
The implementation of the FSF project demonstrates the lengths that the Saudi government is prepared to go to in order to protect its critical industrial infrastructure and enhance its own security of supply. This, in turn, is intended to demonstrate to the global oil market that the kingdom, as the worlds largest oil exporter, is taking all possible measures to avoid the type of problems that have undermined oil production in other OPEC members such as Iraq and Nigeria. The close cooperation with the US government and defense companies also suggests that the relationship between Washington and Riyadh is as strong as ever on strategic issues, despite media reports that have sought to portray a rift between the two allies. But the huge size of the planned force and the requirements of security vetting and training mean that the timeline for standing it up has been difficult to meet. According to security sources, the FSF project aims to establish new elite training standards for its recruits, establishing a force that will not be just reactive and passive but will be able to fight back effectively against the internal threat, while maintaining a careful watch on regional security threats.
