The 21st Century Threat: Global Energy Terrorism

As Canada becomes the key to America’s energy security, we remain woefully unprepared for the kind of sabotage that role might expose us to.

VANCOUVER – A report on the “Top 10 Financial Risks” was released by Goldman Sachs on February 9th. The report itself was drawn from a survey held at a conference in September 2005 with over 250 participants from the business community. The results showed that the number one concern (at 80%) was world oil supply, demand for oil and price of oil. Followed at 66% was the threat of global terrorism.

Missing was the combination of these two concerns, a threat which is slowly becoming the greatest possible to our energy dependent society: global energy terrorism.

Occurrences of this type of terrorism are slowly taking place globally. Georgia and Armenia are the most recent examples, although questions still remain as to who was responsible for the sabotage of their pipeline and electricity tower.

The effectiveness of these attacks which took place on January 22, 2006, cut the countries off from their natural gas supplies and electricity for over a week, all at a time when both countries were experiencing a dramatic cold snap. Thousands of people went without heat and electricity during these sub-zero temperatures.

Nigeria and Ecuador are other examples where insurgents are sabotaging the energy industries in their own countries as a means of protest.

Power Struggle