All Saudi Aramco installations are safe and foolproof security measures are in place to thwart any militant attack, a senior Aramco official has said. Joint patrols by Saudi security forces and the company's Industrial Security Administration have been beefed up and barriers and security checkpoints at all installations are on full alert, the official added. The Ministry of Interior has recently warned of plans by terrorists to seek jobs at oil installations. All contractors supplying manpower to Aramco have taken strict measures to ensure that no unscrupulous elements sneak into their employment rolls. Nasser Al-Hajri, chairman of the Contractors Committee in the Eastern Province, has asked all contractors to tighten control over companies carrying out some Aramco projects. He also called for implementation of the fingerprinting system for all its workers. Saudi Aramco employs about 60,000 people with 80 of them Saudis in supervisory jobs. Also, 90 percent of the oil and gas laboratory operators are Saudi nationals. The company has adopted new tough security measures in view of the latest terror warning. They include stricter inspections, deployment of government forces around the oil installations and the company's housing compounds. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior has completed training of over 11,000 personnel under the installations security force. In addition, a 5-year plan has been laid down for security training of over 30,000 men. Saudi Aramco employees have pledged to cooperate with security forces. – Okaz __
