Al Qaida has issued a series of appeals for Islamic insurgency strikes
on Gulf state oil and natural gas installations.
The appeals have been made by Al
Qaida's No. 2, Ayman Zawahiri.
The Jamestown Foundation reported that Al Qaida's calls have resulted in
increased security measures by Gulf Cooperation Council states, Middle East Newsline reported. The
Washington-based foundation cited an increase in Kuwaiti efforts to secure
oil facilities and other vital installations.
"Kuwait's preparatory precautions are therefore not an overreaction,"
the foundation said.
In an unrelated development, a leading U.S. energy major has sought to enter Egypt.
Amerada Hess has allocated $413 million to enter the Egyptian energy
market. Executives said Amerada would purchase assets in Egypt from the U.S.
firm Apache Corp.
In all, Amerada was preparing to spend $4 billion on exploration,
production and development, much of it in the Middle East. The allocation
would also include the company's entry into the Libyan market.
In October 2005, Apache announced plans to sell its 55 percent interest
in the deepwater section of Egypt's West Mediterranean Concession to
Amerada. Apache said it would concentrate its gas operations in Egypt's
Western Desert.
