State refinery could be terror target

TACOMA – The Department of Homeland Security says one of the state’s five oil refineries may have come under surveillance by terrorists, a newspaper reported Thursday.

While the suspicious activity could be part of preparation for an attack, the agency said there was no specific information suggesting energy facilities were being targeted.

Word on the possible surveillance was in a department bulletin sent to industry, state and local law enforcement officials, The News Tribune of Tacoma reported.

A person in a kayak “was observed videotaping a Northwestern U.S. company’s refinery,” it said. The company’s security staff also reported a “suspicious encounter” with a diver last year in the same general area.

The bulletin noted that a key ring containing about 50 keys was stolen from a field truck owned by a company with a Northwest refinery. The keys represent “potential access” to the company’s U.S. facilities, the agency said, noting that locks at the local operation were being changed.

“Suspicious incident reports concerning possible surveillance of oil and gas refineries and infrastructure continue to emerge from throughout the homeland and may, in some cases, be indicative of terrorist pre-operational activities,” the department said.

Al Qaeda considers such facilities “attractive options because of their potentially significant economic, public health and safety, and psychological impacts,” it said.

The state has received no information about specific threats to refineries, said Joe Huden, a special assistant to Maj. Gen. Timothy Lowenberg, Gov. Gary Locke’s homeland security adviser.

“This is all pretty standard stuff,” Huden said.

A spokesman at BP’s Cherry Point refinery, the state’s largest, said the company has reported no suspicious activity in the past three to six months.

The state’s other refineries are Shell and Tesoro operations in Anacortes, a ConocoPhillips refinery in Ferndale and a U.S. Oil refinery in Tacoma.

The Homeland Security bulletin noted there have been a series of terrorist attacks on energy-related targets overseas, particularly in the Persian Gulf.