Lagos - Nigeria's
petroleum regulator has ordered oil and gas companies to reduce
their offshore workforce and move to 28-day staff rotations as
part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus,
according to a circular seen by Reuters.
The restrictions came after the Nigerian Ports Authority
(NPA) said that six workers on board an offshore rig support
vessel tested positive for coronavirus late last week.
Health experts are concerned about the potential for a
widespread outbreak in Africa's most populous country, which has
about 200 million inhabitants. Nigeria has 97 confirmed
coronavirus cases and one death from the virus.
The country is keen to protect oil production, which
provides 90% of much-needed foreign exchange. A coronavirus case
on an offshore rig could spread quickly among workers and have a
potentially devastating impact on production.
Sarki Auwalu, director of the Department of Petroleum
Resources, said that only staff on essential duties would be
allowed to travel to offshore or remote locations.
"Non-essential staff currently at offshore/remote locations
should be withdrawn with immediate effect," he said in a
statement.
The NPA said the six positive tests that the Nigeria Centre
for Disease Control reported on a ship late last week were all
aboard the Siem Marlin, a support ship for oil rigs that was
sitting offshore Lagos.
The NPA said health officials accessed the vessel by
helicopter. According to Reuters ship tracking, the vessel left
the Onne Port Complex on the Bonny River Estuary on March 15,
and in February visited the offshore terminals for Bonga and
Bonny Light crude oil, two of Nigeria's primary export grades.
The oil terminal visits were well outside the 14-day
coronavirus incubation period.
Nigeria has shut international airports, closed all land
borders and imposed curbs on cargo vessels allowed to dock at
its ports in an effort to contain the outbreak.
Rivers State, in which Port Harcourt serves as the hub of
Nigeria's oil industry, closed its own borders to human traffic
this week.
Oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria have previously
said that workers' health and safety is their top priority.
Industry sources said that a number of oil companies had
already shifted from 14-day rotations to 28 days. Some are also
implementing a 14-day quarantine for workers before they leave
for rigs.
Oil prices have fallen by two thirds since the start of the
year, which has forced Nigeria to cut its budget and prompted
oil companies to reduce their spending plans.