Oil giants set health checks for critical staff, work-from-home rules
HOUSTON - Major energy companies in the United States imposed work-fromhome rules for office staff and began health checks for remote or critical workers as coronavirus spread and threatened an industry reeling from falling demand and profits.
BP, Exxon Mobil, Kinder Morgan, Motiva Enterprises and Royal Dutch Shell told most office staff to work from home starting Monday.
Federal regulators on Friday were pressed by companies to ease work rules for pipeline operators and to limit visits to some sites.
Shell and Chevron began health checks of workers and visitors at some key US facilities, spokesmen said.
Offshore rigs, refineries and pipelines require onsite teams and group workers in close quarters, making them vulnerable in a Covid-19 outbreak.
They cannot be run remotely and health checks could prevent forced shutdowns that could lead to big losses or local fuel shortages.
The pandemic has infected more than 156,000 people worldwide including some 2900 people in the United States, killed more than 5800 globally and slashed fuel demand amid shuttered schools, churches, offices and some retail stores.
There is only one known case of Covid-19 to hit a US refinery.
Marathon Petroleum Corp, the nation's largest refiner by capacity, removed some staff at a California plant after an employee became ill.
Norwegian oil firm Equinor halted a North Sea development project and removed staff after an offshore worker fell ill.
Falling oil demand and a price-war that slashed crude prices by about 50 per cent this year has put the industry in a tailspin. Many oil firms have abruptly cut spending and staff to cope with the downturn.
Work-at-home rules, fewer car and plane trips are expected to reduce US petroleum demand by up to 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd). For the full year, it could cut motor fuel use by roughly 300,000 to 400,000 bpd.
There have been no refining or chemical plant shutins caused by coronavirus.
Still, companies are drafting plans similar to hurricane measures that keep plants running with minimal staff, said people familiar with operations.