Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told employees they needed to reinforce safety standards after a growing number of injury near-misses in an internal video message on April 29, just weeks before three workers died due to a fire on one of the company’s oil platforms in Angola.
“We’ve seen a concerning increase in serious near-misses, especially over the last few weeks,” Wirth said in the video, which Reuters has viewed. “Some of these events could have resulted in fatalities.”
The warning came after the U.S. oil major announced in February that it is laying off up to 20% of its workforce to cut costs. Several top energy companies including rival ConocoPhillips and oil service provider SLB have planned layoffs this year as the lowest oil prices in four years reduce their revenues.
Chevron Says One Missing After Fire at Angola Offshore Oil Platform With 17 Injured
In the two-minute video titled “do it safely or not at all,” Wirth told staff to double down on safety practices, regardless of challenges inside and outside Chevron.
“I know there’s a lot going on right now, with changes underway both inside the company and in the world around us,” he said.
“I learned some people feel that speaking up and stopping work is risky in the current environment. It is not.”
Wirth also said the company was working to reinforce and recommit to a focus on safety.
“Preventing fatalities and serious incidents is our top priority,” a Chevron spokesperson said when asked about the video.
On May 20, a fire broke out on a Chevron-operated deepwater platform about 60 miles (97 km) off Angola’s coast. Three workers died and another 15 workers were injured.
Last year, the company recorded 12 serious injuries and one fatality, according to its corporate sustainability report.
Some of the injured workers from the Angola fire are still receiving treatment, said Clay Neff, Chevron’s recently named president of upstream, in a separate video message to staff on May 30, which was also viewed by Reuters.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway and the company expects to learn more in the coming weeks, he added.
