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OPF

The Erinys Oil Protection Force

…widely recognised as the model for other infrastructure security programs”

Senior Advisor Infrastructure Security, Coalition Provisional Authority

In response to an urgent post-conflict Iraqi Ministry of Oil requirement, Erinys created and deployed over a period of 18 months a guard force of over 16,000 Iraqi national security guards (both fixed site and mobile) protecting 282 key oil infrastructure sites, including strategically significant oil and gas pipelines. The Oil Protection Force (OPF) deployed over 450 vehicles and was supported by a comprehensive and robust nationwide communications infrastructure designed, established and maintained by Erinys. OPF capability was further enhanced in March 2004 through the introduction of a sophisticated day/night aerial surveillance capability.

Within the areas controlled by the OPF, attacks against critical oil infrastructure declined significantly, even as the security situation in surrounding areas deteriorated rapidly. This was a major achievement and testament to both the Erinys approach of fully integrating Iraqi project and guard force management talent at all levels and successfully managing relations with tribal and community leaders in the OPF areas of operations.

The OPF was successfully handed over to full Iraqi Ministry of Oil control at the end of December 2004. Erinys was subsequently retained in a high level consulting capacity advising the US Government and the Iraqi Ministry of Oil on oil infrastructure security matters with particular focus on the introduction of pipeline security measures.

The Erinys OPF project was a key success in the post-conflict security domain; many of the concepts for pipeline and oil infrastructure security developed by Erinys using its OPF experience and oil & gas security expertise have since been adopted across Iraq by Coalition and Iraqi Government authorities.

The story of the OPF is described in more detail in the booklet ‘The Erinys Iraq Oil Protection Force’, which can be downloaded by clicking here.

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To read the full story of The Erinys Oil Protection Force click here (pdf)

CASE STUDIES