US team to hold talks on disaster management, energy security

THE US Embassy in Brunei is planning to send a team to hold talks with staff from the Energy Division at the Prime Minister's Office on the Sultanate's "unique" situation in dealing with disaster management and energy security, US Ambassador William Todd said.

Plans for talks between the two parties surfaced following a visit by a senior US Department of Energy official, William N Bryan, to the Energy Division's headquarters in Jalan Menteri Besar yesterday, where he met Energy Minister Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Dewa Major General (R) Dato Seri Pahlawan Hj Mohammad Hj Daud. Bryan, who is the deputy assistant secretary for Infrastructure Security and Energy at the US Department of Energy's Office, offered Pehin Dato Hj Mohammad an opportunity for a discussion between his staff and a team of US experts "to talk about the unique situation here in Brunei" in dealing with natural disasters and securing power supply.

The senior US official told The Brunei Times following the meeting that it was "premature to make a recommendation" to the Brunei party at this point, saying discussions need to be held first before any suggestions can be put forward.

Bryan, who oversees the collection, analysis and dissemination of vital information to all involved in energy response and restoration efforts, has been conducting meetings with countries from Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

"Globally, the issue we have is with infrastructure, the reliability of energy grids, survivability and resiliency — not just with electricity but also oil and natural gas. Sometimes it concerns reliability against natural disasters but it can also concern protection against deliberate attacks.

"So there's a lot of areas that we can cover and we can offer some of that expertise to other countries," said Bryan, whose first-time visit to the Sultanate came at the invitation of the US ambassador.

"We have been helping other countries and we felt that it may be in the best interest of the government of Brunei to take advantage of some of that," he said.

The US offer came shortly following a similar one put forward by the United Kingdom Trade and Investment, Defence and Security Organisation, which on Friday expressed its willingness to assist Brunei in flood management and contingency planning.

Brunei suffered one of its worst floods in nearly 40 years when heavy rain lashed the country on January 20. The Sultanate recorded 145.8 millimetres of rainfall within a period of 24 hours, triggering flashfloods and landslides nationwide, which left two dead.

The Brunei Times