With a view to avoid recurrence of last week's militant attacks at Digboi refinery and a gas pipeline in Assam, the government will tighten security at all key oil installations, Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said on Wednesday.
"We are in discussion with the state governments and security measures will be tightened for all the oil and gas installations," he said at the Oil Industry Safety Directorate's safety award presentation ceremony in New Delhi.
He equated pilferage by miscreants at oil field and pipelines to compromising national security and said strict measures should be taken to stop such activities.
Enhancing safety measures, revamping of security set up, crisis management, measurement techniques and coordinational aspects should be the focus, he said.
Naik said while incidents of fire and accidents in the oil industry had declined, there were serious concerns about accidents involving contractor personnel at various projects, maintenance sites and derrick floor of the drilling rigs.
Pointing to over 50 dead in such accidents this year, he said, "the prime cause of these fatalities were non-adherence to the laid down norms, which could have been prevented by stricter supervision and training of the contractor employees and tank truck crews."
Referring to the recent fire at a natural gas pipeline in Mumbai due to a rupture caused during the laying down of fibre optic cable by a telecom company, Naik asked, "oil industry personnel to evolve a system of working in close coordination with each other before undertaking digging activities."
Later, Naik gave away the OISD safety awards.
