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AKE Discusses Security and Political Risks at Offshore Europe

ABERDEEN – International security and risk mitigation company AKE will be advising the oil and gas sector this week at Offshore Europe.

Events of the 'Arab Spring' and their impact on the upstream sector in the Middle East and North Africa will be a particular talking point. According to AKE's security risk rating scale on Global Intake the unrest turned some of the safest upstream production areas to amongst the most dangerous parts of the world in the space of a few days.

Libya, for example, went from a ranking of AKE7 (Stable) at the beginning of the year to AKE50 (Insurgency) in February, turning North Africa's quietest country into its most hostile almost overnight.

In the event of further turmoil in the Middle East AKE will be discussing how to mitigate the risks posed to companies, personnel and assets. AKE experts will also talk about reducing risk exposure in the expanding West African market, examining issues such as kidnap for ransom, corruption and even often overlooked concerns such as tropical medicine and employee sickness abroad.

Other developments this year such as the spread of worldwide piracy, terrorist attacks in Kazakhstan and more positive news such as the growth of market opportunities in Iraq will also be a focus of discussion, not least because of the security obstacles to profitable business presented in these regions.

The high-profile oil and gas conference brings together various companies, experts and speakers to discuss the latest challenges and newest products in the industry.

This year’s conference title is "Securing safe, smart, sustainable supply." The 'safe' aspect is of particular interest to AKE. Already this year the company has evacuated oil and gas workers from Libya, advised numerous companies on security and political risks and trained dozens of personnel prior to their deployment to places such as India, China, Iraq, Brazil and Nigeria. With more challenges likely to emerge over the coming months, AKE expects safety, security and political risks to become even more of a talking point at Offshore Europe and in the months to follow.

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