Lessons from Algeria

London – With the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that much greater security should have been afforded to workers at the In Amenas gas plant - a strategic energy facility located in a remote desert region, where terrorists were known to operate.

The incident will likely lead to investigations seeking to identify various political, military and internal security measures that could prevent such deadly terrorist attacks happening in the future.

These measures might well include much closer engagement with industrial operators and contractors.

During the attack in eastern Algeria, senior bosses from BP, Statoil and Sonatrach found themselves close to the centre of events.

Prime minister David Cameron, for example, was in personal contact with BP chief executive Bob Dudley at the height of the incident.

Going forward, industry should seek to maintain this sort of high-level dialogue to keep everyone better informed about the security status of vital process facilities, and the engineers and workers who build, operate and maintain them.