April: InfrastructureSaudis set up special force to protect critical insrastructure

Published 2 April 2008

In February 2006 al Qaeda terrorists tried to blow up the world’s largest oil processing plant at Abqaiq; the Saudi government responded by setting up a 15,000-strong special force to protect oil, gas, and water desalination infrastructure

The jelly and jam maker Schmucker has a clever tag line in its TV commercials: “With a name like Schmucker, it has to be good!” Indeed. In a similar vein, we ran a story about critical infrastructure protection technology, in which we asked a question — and answered it: “How do you know an Israeli product is very good? Easy: The Saudis use it” (see this HSDW story). The technology we wrote about allowed the delivery of crisp, high-resolution video over cellular networks, and the Saudis installed in as part of a plan to protect their oil fields. Saudi worries about the protection critical infrastructure did not end there, and the government has set up a newly Facilities Security Force the task of which is to take “all necessary measures” to protect oil and power installations and water desalination plants throughout the Kingdom. The new force will work in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, the National Guard, and the Ministry of Defense and Aviation, said Maj-Gen Sa’ad Al-Majed, Chief of the Facilities Security Force. Speaking at the commencement ceremony of the first batch of the Facilities Security Force, its commander said that the Force has been working on a three-year plan to recruit and train a 35,000-strong special force to protect oil and power installations. The Facilities Security Force has recruited 8,191 members, of which 4,588 are ready to serve, he said.

The Force has completed the first phase of its training and administration center in Jeddah at a cost of SR90 million to serve the whole Western Province, he said (see July 2007 HSDW story). A new training and administration center will follow suit in the Eastern Province, he added. The plan to set up the 35,000 force to guard oil and other installations was announced last year by the interior minister, Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, after a failed Al-Qaeda attack on the world’s largest oil processing plant at Abqaiq in February 2006. The protection of oil facilities has been the responsibility of a 15,000-strong force run by Aramco.