Oil giants set health checks for critical staff, work-from-home rules
HOUSTON - Major energy companies in the United States imposed work-from-home rules for office staff and began health checks for remote or critical workers as coronavirus spread across the United States and threatened an industry reeling by falling demand and profits.
Offshore rigs, refineries and pipelines require on-site teams and group workers in close quarters, making them vulnerable in a Covid-19 outbreak. Such businesses cannot be run remotely and health checks could prevent forced shutdowns that could lead to big losses or local fuel shortages. BP and Shell on Friday gave workers work-at-home assignments following similar social-distancing measures at Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft’s Silicon Valley offices. The rules affect about 15,000 U.S. Shell workers.
“We are taking precautionary measures to reduce the risk of exposure, including screening workers and visitors,” Chevron spokesman Braden Reddall said. Local offices will set their own rules with health officials, he added. There have been no refining or chemical plant shut-ins caused by coronavirus. Still, companies are drafting plans to keep running through an outbreak at one or more facilities, said the people.
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