In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the list of threats and vulnerabilities to the nation’s energy infrastructure is “a lot longer now,” said Robbie Gillham, manager of global security for Conoco Inc. At the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission’s (IOGCC) panel discussion, the topic of the day focused mainly on the role states must play in maintaining, protecting and encouraging domestic oil and natural gas production during a crisis.

Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating — who was chairman of the IOGCC in 1997 — told the group it is “shortsighted” for the United States to rely on an “uninterrupted supply” of oil from the Middle East. Keating reminded the panel that the organization must “constantly remind the U.S. House and Senate of the need for a bi-partisan energy policy.” Keating added that the old policy of “cheap energy at any cost” must be changed, along with an increased emphasis on conservation. “Every time we waste energy, we’re writing a check to Saddam Hussein,” he said.

Reporting on a recent National Petroleum Council (NPC) study of the security of the nation’s energy infrastructure, Conoco’s Gillham said, “Since Sept. 11, our sector (oil and gas industry) has heightened security at facilities nationwide. We have increased the number of guards and surveillance at key facilities.” Gillham told the panel that one of the recommendations of the NPC study was the implementation of an Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC).

“Early warning is critical to infrastructure protection,” Gillham said, adding that individual companies can join the ISAC and share information.

International petroleum consultant David Garlick also put emphasis on the necessity of domestic energy production. He said that encouraging domestic oil and gas production is vital to national interests even without a crisis. He told the panel that most states taxation on oil and gas are “out of step” with current industry economics. “We are not out of oil and gas (domestically), it’s simply been made uneconomical to produce,” Garlick said.

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