From Bloomberg News:
Algeria Attack No Outlier as Oil Targeted 3 Times a Week: Energy
By Brian Swint on January 23, 2013
While the attack in Algeria that killed at least 38 hostages was the deadliest raid on the oil industry in five years, it’s far from unprecedented.
From Colombia to Yemen, oil workers have suffered violence for decades as militants strike an industry seen symbolizing political and economic power. The bloodiest attack came in 2007 when 72 people died after a secessionist group in Ethiopia overran a camp run by China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (600028), according to the University of Maryland’s Global Terrorism Database. Each week about three attacks were made worldwide on oil employees and installations in 2011, the data show.
“This attack has surely got some attention, but I wouldn’t say it’s an outlier,” said Gal Luft, co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security in Washington. “If you want oil and gas you have to go to these places. This is the cost of doing business.”
