Restrictive measures taken by the government to fight the spread of Covid-19 have a strong impact on the oil sector. The operators are asking the government to make it easier, in particular on the movement of staff on the sites.
The restrictions adopted by the government and imposed by the spread of the coronavirus are suffocating companies in the Gabonese oil sector. They made this known on April 30 to the Minister of Petroleum and Gabon, Vincent de Paul Massassa. By presenting their situation to him via videoconference, the representatives of these companies want massive tests for their staff in order to facilitate the deployment of at least 20 people on site instead of the 10 prescribed by these measures.
This complaint is in fact due to the fact that the restrictions imposed by the government have forced the oil operators operating in the Gabonese sedimentary basin to considerably modify their rotation system. “We know that the measurements have caused them to modify their rotation system and therefore the exposures and work times. This fact that this working time on site having been reviewed, they request that with the Gabonese administration, they put themselves in phase with regard to the regulations, ” the Minister of Oil, Gas and Hydrocarbons, Vincent de Paul Massassa explains.
According to the Oil minister, operators in the sector “would like there to be screening centers to enable them to carry out massive screenings. Because it is the only way to ensure that these personnel, if they are symptomatic, that they are detected before their departure on site. ”
Indeed, the measures enacted reduced the working time of employees on the sites, as well as the time of activities. This has a greater impact on production. Hence the need, according to the actors, for the government to reconsider as a matter of priority this question relating to the workforce. “They would like to have a larger movement of people on the sites,” said the Minister of Petroleum who should consult with his colleagues under the leadership of the Prime Minister in order to make the right decisions.
