Cano Limon to Covenas Pipeline

-Approximately 480 miles long

-Transports approximately 20% of Colombias oil (100,000 barrels per day as of

2005).Though other reports have cited this figure as high as 220,000 barrels per
day in 2011.

-Between 2002 and 2005 America provided 99 million dollars in aid to the
Colombian government.

-In 2005 some of the U.S. funding was used to purchase a fleet of helicopters in
order to respond quickly to attacks upon key infrastructure targets such as the
pipelines, however training enough Colombian pilots and mechanics to operate
them indefinitely has been of some concern. Additionally Im not sure If it was more
of a fluke or a legitimate plan by the FARC but a landmine did destroy a helicopter
that was landing near a downed section of pipeline.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/700248/military-helicopter-hits-landmine-4-soldiers-die

The following graph is taken from a Government Accountability Report (GAO) from
September 2005.

http://www.gao.gov/assets/250/247619.pdf
The report states, and the data clearly corroborates a sharp decline in attacks after
foreign aid from the United States, providing military training and equipment to the
Colombian army. Attacks on all pipelines were reported to continue to decline from
2008 to 2010 with attacks totaling less than 40 for all 3 years, an all time low of 31
was reported in 2010. However, attacks on pipelines surged in 2011 to 84, and
between January and October over 142 attacks were recorded. Some analysts have
attributed the uptick of pipeline attacks to construction of new pipelines that have
continued to penetrate into even more remote sections of the country, areas that
have traditionally been hotbeds of insurgent activity.

https://books.google.com/books?
id=5z7hOL2jALYC&pg=PA120&lpg=PA120&dq=colombian+pipeline+attacks+tactic
s&source=bl&ots=sGaCAc1oxd&sig=b1OCYKoZb9aGecRMeQQnHm7gGyk&hl=en&s
a=X&ei=r_meVceOBtSdygSm-LZo&ved=0CEgQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=colombian
%20pipeline%20attacks%20tactics&f=false

Report of Colombia from the Oxford Business Group.

Rebel and Terrorist Tactics

I havent been able to find a definite source on the exact tactics employed by
guerrilla and terrorist forces, but I have come across several references to dynamite
being, the typical explosive used to attack the pipelines. I even came across a
reference to dynamite detonated by cellphone, perhaps cellular tracking could be of
some use. In other parts of the world and I imagine in at least some attacks in
Colombia IEDs are the most common explosive used to attack pipeline
infrastructure. [1a]

In 2012 FARC declared they would cease kidnapping government officials and
executives both foreign and domestic, some contend that the loss of this tactic
may be in part responsible for the recent swell in attacks on infrastructure and
pipelines in particular. However, FARC still considers military personnel to be
prisoners of war. Additionally in 2013 32 civilian kidnapping cases were attributed to
the FARC organization [1b].

Countries that face similar problems securing pipelines, that are a favorite target for
domestic and international terrorist organizations. Bears further investigation to see
if the terrorists tactics, or the governments response have been novel.

-Iraq, Sudan, India, Russia, Turkey http://www.iags.org/n0328051.htm

[1a] http://www.wsj.com/articles/colombian-rebel-attacks-set-back-nation-
1415399080
[1b] http://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/farc-rebels-still-kidnapping-in-
colombia-report

Efforts of Private and National Contractors

**Note** These companies are notoriously secretive much of what is presented

here may be biased or incomplete, I simply presented what seemed to be the most
reliable information available to me.

-Airscan http://www.airscan.com/index.php

Founded in 1989 Airscan is an aerial ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and

Reconnaissance) company that services the U.S. government and private sector
companies. It is unclear when exactly Airscan became involved in monitoring the
Cano Limon pipeline. But they were implicated in faulty target acquisition that led in
part to the infamous 1998 bombing of a small civilian village leading to 18 deaths.
Airscan provides manned and unmanned ISR, and has been involved in Colombia,
Iraq, Angola, and parts of Africa as well as domestically. I have been struggling to
find more concrete information about Airscans technology or tactics, they are a
very private company, and 1998 bombing serves to further obfuscate any details
about their involvement in Colombia.

-Global CST http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/special-

reports/article24630664.html

An Israeli defense contractor and security consultant firm which has become
recently involved in Latin America. Colombia signed a contract with CST in 2006 in
order to develop a strategy for defeating internal terrorists by 2010. CST claimed to
be a cheaper alternative to previous U.S. D.O.D. aid, free from the entangling
political strings that come from accepting such assistance from the U.S. The article
above links to a report on a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable regarding the Israeli
company and their relation to Colombia, it is particularly interesting and I highly
recommend you read it to get a sense of some of the political maneuverings
occurring in the region.

-US DOD

Already talked more about the U.S. involvement in Colombia previously in the
report, of particular note are the Blackhawk helicopters and specialized training
provided, this greatly increased the Colombian effective range of response when
dealing with remote (both in distance and elevation) sections of the pipelines. .

Oil and Gas Security Companies

Defendec http://www.defendec.com/reconeyez

Purports to have a wireless system of autonomous battery operated sensors

designed especially for oil and gas defense. Claims camouflaged units can operate
for over 400 days without recharging. It appears to be a low power consumption
recorder that only turns on in the presence of motion much like a trailcam employed
by sportsmen. However, it purports to have virtually eliminated false alarms,
instead recording and transmitting exclusively human and vehicle intrusions. It
would be interesting to see what metrics they use to determine if their target it
worthwhile. If audio based I imagine it would be of great use to the fiber-optic
program.

POLUS-ST http://www.radiobarrier.com/

A Russian company thats most successful product is called RADIOBARRIER not a lot
of information is given about their products, but they claim to protect more than
3100km of pipelines around the world. Glancing at their product info it appears to
be low power consumption wireless sensors that only transmit data that fits a
certain criteria for intruder or vehicle. The most interesting of which is an
underground seismic sensor described as;

Seismic sensors detect and classify foot-born intruders and vehicles by seismic
noise they produce while moving. Each device is planted underground at a depth of
30-50 cm. The detection radius for foot-born intruders is up to 100 m; for vehicles
up to 200 m. Sensors can function as a seismic, break-wire sensor, external device
control unit and repeater. Unattended operation time without recharging and
battery replacement is up to 5 years.

Conclusion

From my understanding there is no true way to prevent all attacks on pipelines in

unstable countries such as Colombia, where the pipeline is so remote and exposed.
However, monitoring and early warning followed by rapid response is an effective
way to stop some attacks, and raise the cost of even successful attacks
significantly for the opposition.

I am very interested in DAS it appears to be a high-tech permutation of the older

acoustic based detection and security systems that are still in use. I recommend we
analyze the cost and benefits of DAS systems in comparison to their lower tech
counterparts. Davids concerns are well founded, we need to know how technical
the installation, maintenance, and repair of such a system would be; both physical
field installation and data monitoring and networking.