FBI Warns of Attacks on Refiners; Reaction Muted~~~~~~~~~~~Spiritsof the Light

So this is why the high gas prices.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON (Reuters) - The FBI (news - web sites) said on Thursday it had given Texas oil refiners a new warning about possible terror attacks coinciding with U.S. elections in November, but reaction from the industry and world oil markets was muted.



The advisory, issued on Tuesday, was based on "very raw intelligence" from overseas sources, said Bob Doguim, spokesman for the Houston FBI office.

"It was specific only to the extent that it was oil refineries and Texas," Doguim said. "Beyond that it is really very vague and we haven't been able to corroborate it yet."

Nonetheless, refiners were warned because it was "the responsible thing to do," he said.

A petroleum industry source who has seen the notification said, "The alert mentioned threats to pipelines and facilities in Texas to coincide with the election in November."

The source said there have been at least a half dozen of these types of warnings from the FBI in Texas since last summer. Texas is a major center of the center of the U.S. petroleum industry.

But there have been no known attempts to attack the numerous refineries and petrochemical plants that line the Houston Ship Channel and nearby Galveston Bay.

U.S. retail gasoline prices soared to a record high this week on tight supplies, and any damage to a major refinery or pipeline would constrict supplies even more. But traders said security alerts such as this week's were common enough that they had little effect on markets.

U.S. crude oil prices fell sharply on Thursday, and traders blamed the decline on reports that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was having trouble carrying out a planned cut in production.

The National Petrochemical and Refiners Association said it asked its Texas members to be more vigilant about security after the warning.

"I'm very confident that they are doing virtually everything that should be done," Maurice McBride, the group's security director said.

Refiners said they have maintained high security at their plants since the Sept. 11, 2001 hijacked airliner attacks in Washington and New York.

"We have never stepped down from that high level from two years ago," BP Plc. spokeswoman Marti Snyder said. BP has a 447,000 barrel per day refinery in Texas City south of Houston.

"Like all of the other (warnings), this is unsubstantiated," Snyder said.

An FBI official in Washington said the agency had processed 7,000 alleged threats in the past year.

Doguim warned there would be more.

"Frankly, it's not going to be the last time in the post 9/11 world," he said.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blessed Be, Spiritsof the Light

Show all stories by   Author:  50678 ( Click here )