press release leveraging digital solutions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19

oil and gas production performance remains strong amid the pandemic

April 7, 2021 – The COVID-19 pandemic has been here for more than a year. This condition greatly impact various communities and industrial activities, including upstream oil and gas industry. So, what efforts have been made by the upstream oil and gas industry to protect tens of thousands of workers while maintaining the oil and gas production stability?

Steps taken by PT. Chevron Pacific Indonesia (PT CPI) should be taken as a best practice. One of the largest Contracting Contractors (KKKS) in Indonesia leverages digital technology in an integrated manner to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19 in the company's environment. As a result, PT CPI is able to maintain a low positivity rate in the work environment. The positivity rate number is stable below the World Health Organization (WHO) standard. The positivity rate shows the ratio of the number of confirmed COVID-19 positive cases to the total tests performed. The safe standard set by WHO is 5 percent.

"The uses of digital technology facilitates monitoring systems and maintains the level of compliance of workers to internal rules and procedures so that the potential spread of viruses can be suppressed. In addition, our Company also continues to strive to increase awareness about COVID-19 through various educational and communication activities," said Albert Simanjuntak as Managing Director of Chevron IndoAsia Business Unit and President Director of PT CPI. Because, he continued, COVID-19 prevention efforts would run effectively if supported by the collective awareness of all workers and their families.

After the first case of COVID-19 in Indonesia was announced in early March 2020, PT CPI moved quickly by forming a task force. Its main task is to protect the safety and health of all workers while maintaining the continuity of upstream oil and gas operations that are vital to the country. "Human protection, in this case the safety and health of workers, is one of the values embraced by our Company. Therefore, we immediately moved quickly," said Albert.

The main strategy implemented by PT CPI is to conduct education; minimize potential exposure; early detection and case management; anticipate positive cases by improving personnel and facilities preparedness; and maintain the continuity of operations.

Related to the use of digital technology, so far as many as 15 applications have been created and used by PT CPI in an effort to protect workers and reduce the risk of the spread of COVID-19 in the work environment. Starting from filtering access (access screening) into the Company's facilities; restrictions on personal and official travel; monitoring of case progress; periodic test scheduling; remote monitoring of workers' health; to contact tracing analysis. The digital applications are designed and made by PT CPI skilled personnel. For example, access filtering. PT CPI created an application called the Declaration Form for COVID-19 Screening. Every worker is required to fill out the form online every week. So are the company's guests. Before visiting PT CPI, they are required to fill out the form.

This application becomes the first filter for all workers and guests who want to enter the Company's facilities. They are mandatory to answer a number of questions to confirm that they are in good health, have not recently returned from a long trip, and do not have close contact with a confirmed/suspected PERSON of COVID-19 before entering the Company's facilities.

After filling out the form get and the result with red alert notification via email, it means that the worker/guest is not allowed to enter the Company's facilities. If the worker continues to force themselves in, their access card will be automatically read by the system and get a warning that is also sent to their supervisor. Through such efforts, the potential spread of the virus in the work environment can be minimized.

To date, PT CPI still applies remote work for workers with this type of office work. To maintain employee performance, the Company conducts several anticipations including increasing network capacity, providing additional ways of access to IT systems, improving data security systems, and maintaining and adding more reliable collaboration systems.

An annual program of training and ergonomic work assessments is carried out to prevent employees from repetitive stress injuries (RSI). RSI is a type of joint injury caused by tension in the muscles or nerves due to certain physical activities performed continuously and over a long period of time. As for workers who have to go to the field, the company devises a various of procedures to protect them from potential exposure to the virus. One of them is the compartmentalization program, where workers are required to undergo quarantine and PCR tests whenever they want to work in critical facilities.

With diversified efforts made, PT CPI's operating performance remains strong and even able to exceed the oil production target set by the government in 2020. "We are very proud of the commitment from all workers to always maintain the leadership of health protocols and remain productive even in the midst of a pandemic," said Albert. The number of workers at PT CPI, including partners, reached more than 25,000 people.

Besides being used at PT CPI located in Riau, digital solutions that have been created are also utilized for Chevron's other operations in Jakarta and East Kalimantan. These digital solutions also gained recognition from Chevron's U.S. headquarters and became learning materials for Chevron's business units in other countries.