The US Departments of Energy and Homeland Security jointly announced a new Pipeline Security Initiative on Oct. 3 as their Oil and Natural Gas Subsector Coordinating Council (ONG SCC) held its final 2018 meeting at DOE. It was an opportunity for industry representatives to meet Karen Evans, DOE’s Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, who is leading DOE’s work with DHS in helping the US government and energy industries address potential energy security threats.
“As the sector-specific agency for the energy sector, [DOE] is committed to working with our industry and interagency partners to enhance our nation’s energy security,” she explained. “The Pipeline Security Initiative will leverage the unique expertise of DOE, DHS, Transportation Security Administration, and other federal agencies to support the efforts of the ONG SCC to address the threats to our nation’s pipelines.”
The initiative may be new, but the council itself has been quietly at work for years. Since May 2016, it has provided a forum to effectively coordinate oil and gas security strategies and activities, policy, and communication to support DHS’s mission.
“It’s a venue where owners and operators can mutually plan, implement, and execute sufficient and appropriate sector-wide security programs, procedures and processes, exchange information, and assess accomplishments and progress toward continuous improvement in the protection of the sector’s critical infrastructure,” the council’s mission statement says.
Membership is open to US oil and gas trade associations involved in distribution, drilling, exploration and production, marketing, processing, refining, service and supplies, transmission and transportation (including pipeline, marine, aviation, motor, and rail). The American Petroleum Institute and 20 other US trade groups are full members. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and Canadian Energy Pipeline Association are associate members.
API Midstream Group Director Robin Rorick said the new Pipeline Security Initiative recognizes that as cyber-threats continue to evolve and become more sophisticated, the US energy infrastructure must do the same.
A coordinated approach
“This is a complicated and continually changing issue, and it will be best managed through a coordinated approach between industry and the federal government,” he maintained on Oct. 4. “To that end, we look forward to working with [DOE and DHS] to advance the Initiative’s objectives on behalf of America’s energy sector.”
“Our meetings this week with the ONG SCC helped further the partnership between the federal government and the oil and gas industry,” said DHS National Risk Management Center Director Bob Kolasky. “The Pipeline Security Initiative partners [the National Protection and Program’s Directorate’s] cybersecurity resources and DOE’s energy sector expertise with TSA’s regular and ongoing assessments to get a broader understanding of the risks the pipeline sector faces.”
