Sam Ikeotuonye
Lagos — Nigeria’s oil industry watchdog, the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, has ordered oil and gas companies to reduce their workforce and practice social distancing, tightening measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
DPR’s Director, Engr. Sarki Auwalu, issued the order on Thursday in a post on the department’s official facebook page.
“All operators and their contractors are to ensure strict compliance with relevant government directives and limit the number of personnel at project/construction sites accordingly,” Auwalu said in a latest circular on the Coronavirus pandemic to oil and gas industry operators.
The DPR, in the circular, described the current situation as a force majeure.
The industry regulator had on Sunday ordered oil and gas companies to reduce their offshore workforce and move to 28-day staff rotations, a measure also meant to curtail the spread of the Coronavirus.
