ConocoPhillips Alaska announced that they will be demobilizing their drilling rig fleet on their North Slope fields, as a direct response to the threat posed by COVID-19.
According to Natalie Lowman, ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Director of Communications, the COVID-19 pandemic was presenting a heightened risk to their North Slope workforce: “We are taking action to significantly reduce the number of personnel on the Slope in a managed fashion. To do this, we’ve made the decision to demobilize our rig fleet. Demobilizing our rig fleet means our drilling rigs will stop drilling and the rigs will be placed in long term storage. Wells in production will continue to produce oil. Given the high degree of uncertainty on how the situation plays out, we can’t say how long these measures will be in place.”
She added: “The health and well-being of our workforce, along with mitigating the spread of COVID-19 is our top priority. The preventative actions we’re taking in Alaska are primarily due to the remoteness and complexity of operating on the North Slope during the COVID pandemic.”
This is the not the first change in services to the area from a major player in the Alaskan oil market. As previously reported by KSRM, BP Alaska previously announced one of their workers had tested positive and said they were eliminating nonessential activity on the North Slope.