05 July 2013 – Norwegian oil and gas major Statoil reported Friday that its investigation into January’s terrorist attack on the In Amenas gas facility in Algeria has now conducted more than 120 interviews.
The mid-January attack claimed the lives of four BP employees and five of Statoil’s staff among several dozen fatalities. Statoil launched the investigation into the attack in late February, appointing the former chief of the Norwegian Intelligence Service, Lieutenant General Torgeir Hagen, as head of the investigating team. The team visited Algiers and In Amenas in April, while it has also met with government representatives in Great Britain, Norway, the US and Canada.
Statoil said Friday that while there remain some outstanding interviews, the main work of the investigating team will now shift to the analysis phase. The investigation’s two main objectives are: to determine the relevant chain of events before, during and after the terror attack; and to enable Statoil to improve security, risk assessment and emergency preparedness.
“Through our work we have gotten far in establishing the chain of events at the site. The true measure of success for the investigation team will be if we enable learning and improvement in Statoil,” Hagen said in a company statement.
“We are concerned with what Statoil as an organization can learn.”
The investigating team is due to deliver its final report on the attack in mid-September this year.
*Jon Mainwaring, Rigzone