Defence report notes threat to oil refineries

According to CanWest's David Pugliese, an internal defence department report notes that oil refineries across Canada could become a target for terrorists aimed at crippling the North American economy.

A military exercise planned for the NorthWest Territories in April will apparently include a scenario involving threats against an oil refinery. Troops involved in the exercise will come from Western Canada and the Maritimes.

Offshore rig security is not a new issue. In February, a message posted to an al-Queda website called for attacks on energy infrastructure in North America, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia.

Canada's special operations unit, JTF 2, has trained for security incidents involving offshore oil rigs. [Photo: Department of National Defence]

Pugliese notes that some of the possible threats globally include attacks on choke points where tankers pass on the way to and from oil storage and refining facilities.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, such a choke point exists in Placentia Bay. Tankers laden with crude from the local offshore and from the Middle East regularly transit the Bay on the way to and from both the Come by Chance refinery and the Whiffen Head oil transshipment facility.

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