Following an attack by Algerian troops on hostage-takers at a natural gas facility, Statoil ASA, BP PLC and Cepsa SA yesterday began to evacuate employees and their families.

Norway-based Statoil confirmed eight of its 17 employees were safe. Five escaped Wednesday, and another three were found yesterday.

Additionally, nonessential personnel for Statoil and BP were evacuated from two other gas plants in the country.

Some analysts noted that Algeria's desert fields are vulnerable because of their isolation.

"All these facilities are in remote areas and are absolutely unprepared for this," said Fadel Gheit, oil analyst for Oppenheimer & Co. "The borders are very porous. There is nothing there except hundreds of miles of desert. We complain about the Mexican border. Welcome to the Sahara."

But Eurasia Group oil analyst Greg Priddy said the location would make the fields easier to defend.

"Part of the reason this incident was possible is that the government didn't have the number of security forces it needed there, and now this will put them on a much higher state of alert," he said (Steven Mufson, Washington Post, Jan. 17). -- JE