Strong energy demand is forcing the petroleum industry into high lightning-risk areas such as Africa, Asia and South America. In the heart of Africa, the multimillion-dollar Chad/Cameroon Development opened a revenue stream several years ago with the completion of an estimated billion-barrel oil field in Chad and a 663-mile pipeline through Cameroon to an offshore marine export terminal. "Chad has some of the most intense, most frequent lightning strikes in the world, with about two lightning storms a week from mid May to early October," says an electrical engineer for the oil production operation in Chad. "Still, to meet demand and production goals, we have to stay up and running without unscheduled downtime." To sufficiently protect its facilities, including a central processing site and three outlying gathering sites, the oil company decided against using traditional lightning rods, which are designed to attract lightning.
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