Pandemics, climate change, cyber crime, population explosion all threats
Dubai (March, 2008) – National oil companies are facing a whole new set of business-critical risks for which they need to be adequately prepared, Dan Glaser, chairman and chief executive officer of Marsh Inc., has warned.
Opening the National Oil Companies Conference organised by Marsh, the world’s leading insurance broker and risk adviser, Mr Glaser told an audience of 400 senior national oil company executives that a new series of risks threatened their ability to operate effectively.
Mr Glaser said: “Ten years ago, operational and legal risks would have been the most significant threat. Operational and legal risks remain important, but some of them seem pretty standard, almost trite representatives of a simpler time.
“The major change compared to a decade ago is the increase in importance of both political and ‘other’ risks. By other risks, I am referring to the threat of pandemics; climate change; cyber crime; population explosion; the emergence of unified, competing regional markets; nuclear proliferation; religious fragmentation, and cultural shifts.
“These risks involve large truly catastrophic risk potential, with very little ability for an insurer to evaluate and underwrite. While not every operational and hazard risk has a corresponding insurance solution, one reason I came back to Marsh last year is because our firm always has been the industry’s most powerful engine of innovation. Behind the legacy of breakthrough insurance solutions created by Marsh over the years has been a collection of the industry’s most creative minds and their uniform commitment to the clients they serve.”
Mr. Glaser explained three key issues facing the industry in 2008:
“National oil companies require innovative, cutting edge technology and thought. Yet, there are many obstacles in your way. To name a few, you find yourselves coping with accessing a skilled labor force. Even when skilled labor is available, oil companies have to meet the rising costs for that workforce. Tightening debt markets are making leveraged projects more difficult to accomplish. Also infrastructure shortages, especially steel and concrete — the very components oil companies require to develop their infrastructure — are in short supply and that supply cost is increasing constantly.”
About Marsh:
Marsh, the world’s leading insurance broker and risk advisor, has 26,000 employees and provides advice and transactional capabilities to clients in over 100 countries. Marsh is a unit of Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC), a global professional services firm with more than 55,000 employees and annual revenue exceeding $11 billion. MMC also is the parent company of Guy Carpenter, the risk and reinsurance specialist; Kroll, the risk consulting firm; Mercer, the provider of HR and related financial advice and services; and Oliver Wyman, the management consultancy. MMC’s stock (ticker symbol: MMC) is listed on the New York, Chicago and London stock exchanges. MMC’s Web Site is www.mmc.com. Marsh’s Web site is www.marsh.com.
Tags: climate change, cyber risk, Marsh, top risks
