The
UK government has added offshore oil and gas workers to its list of essential
workers, meaning they will not need to self-isolate if they have travelled to
England in the course of their work and are required to start work within
the usual 14-day self-isolation period.
The
changes apply to workers coming into England who are required to undertake or
commence:
- activities on or in relation to an offshore
installation
- activities on or in relation to upstream petroleum
infrastructure
- critical safety work on an offshore installation or
well being decommissioned or preserved pending demolition or reuse
- activities for the provision of workers, goods,
materials or equipment or other essential services required to support the safe
operation of the activities referred to above
Workers in this
category will need to show a letter from their company at the border which
includes name and address, contact details of their employer and details of the
work they will be doing.
Paul Jarvie, head of account management, Scotland and Northern England, for FCM Travel Solutions, said: “The exemptions made for offshore oil & gas workers are a positive step in the right direction. Our oil and gas clients’ key workers have continued to travel throughout the pandemic, but a lot of this was domestic travel, or if it was international, then the logistics of getting employees to and from rigs in locations like Angola was complex. Most crews rotate every two to three weeks, but previous restrictions were meaning the usual international trips could take more like five or six weeks by the time isolation and quarantines were imposed at either end. The oil and gas sector is vital in providing key energy and products used by people and companies throughout the UK so it is great news that we can now get some of these people moving around the world again a little easier. We expect to see an uptake in more international travel not just by crews and rig workers, but also this move will encourage senior managers to start travelling internationally again.”
James
McIlvenna, head of account management at Corporate Traveller UK, which has
clients in the sector, said: “This decision is certainly welcome news for our
clients in the oil and gas sector. As you can imagine there have
been important projects that have needed to continue throughout the pandemic,
meaning these clients needed to keep travelling.
“So this development will now
mean that those companies are now able to continue with this work without the
additional impact of considerations such as higher operating costs due to
workers needing to stay in hotels for quarantine, or workers having to spend
further time away from their families.”
The list of exempt
professions includes diplomats, government contractors, seasonal
agricultural workers and international elite sportspersons.