By Kjetil Malkenes Hovland
OSLO--Norway will consider sharing national risk assessments
with businesses operating in politically unstable regions after
five Statoil ASA (STO) employees were killed in a terrorist attack
in Algeria, the Minister of Trade and Industry said Thursday.
Trond Giske was meeting with business associations and unions to
discuss security one day after the caskets of four deceased Statoil
employees arrived in Norway, following the Jan. 16 terrorist attack
and the kidnapping of hostages at the In Amenas gas plant in
Algeria, operated by Statoil ASA (STO), BP PLC (BP) and Algerian
energy company Sonatrach.
"Of course, when such a dramatic incident occurs, it's a
reminder of how important security is," said Mr. Giske. "Our
international activity is growing, and this development will
continue" he said, adding that "it's no alternative not to engage
abroad."
The business associations wanted to combine the risk assessments
of Norwegian government ministries and agencies, embassies and big
companies, and to make them easily accessible to each other as well
as to smaller companies.
"Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a serious incident to
increase the focus on security," said Kristine Breitland, leader of
NSR, a council set up by business associations in sectors like
shipping, oil and gas and telecom to give security advise to
companies.
Among the bigger Norwegian companies with global operations are
telecom provider Telenor ASA (TEL.OS), aluminum producer Norsk
Hydro ASA (NHY.OS) and fertilizer producer Yara International ASA
(YAR.OS).
Even companies with solid emergency organizations had been
reviewing their preparedness after the attack, Ms. Breitland said.
But most Norwegian companies are small and medium-sized, and will
need help from the government and big companies to gather
intelligence, Ms. Breitland said.
"They need good tools and to know what risks they are facing,"
she said. "Statoil has been in front and said it will share what it
finds in its investigation process [after the Algeria attack].
That's positive."
If Statoil couldn't guarantee the safety of its workers in any
of its facilities abroad, Chief Executive Helge Lund said
Wednesday, "we can't have employees in those areas."
Statoil has said it operates in politically, economically and
socially unstable areas of the world, and has identified a range of
potential threats such as wars, guerilla activity, nationalization
of assets, political unrest, strikes and insurrections.
"The span of topics is so huge," said Petter Haas Brubakk,
executive director of the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise,
who joined the calls for the government to improve information
sharing. "Some countries you avoid because they are too dangerous.
It may be health-related risk, traffic risk, abduction, crime,
corruption--you have to analyze each country to be prepared."
Write to Kjetil Malkenes Hovland at
kjetilmalkenes.hovland@dowjones.com
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