Page 12 - BeachBooklet_2020

COVID-19
Beach’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to be one of the
defining events of the 21st Century, and its impacts
have been felt by everyone.
Even in Australia and New Zealand where, through
proactive government responses, COVID-19 case
numbers have been kept comparatively low on a
global scale, the health response required to keep
the pandemic under control has caused
immeasurable disruption.
As a result, national economies around the world
have been significantly impacted, with the Australian
economy contracting 7% in the June 2020 quarter.
All sectors of the economy have been hit hard by the
pandemic, and the oil and gas sector is no exception.
Beach’s response to COVID-19 has been proactive
from the outset, with the aim of ensuring the
health and safety of our workforce, contractors and
the communities in which it operates, as well as
announcing a prudent slowdown in its investment
activity to ensure the continued financial health of
the company.
Beach first communicated concerns about
the emerging Novel Coronavirus threat to its
employees in January 2020. It activated its Crisis
Management Team in February, and established
the Business Continuity Team (BCT) in March.
Since that time, the BCT has provided ongoing daily
management of COVID-19 related matters across
the business, covering HSE, operations, drilling, office
management, communications, supply chain and
logistics, and worst case scenario planning.
Beach directed its office-based workforces in
Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and New Plymouth to
commence working-from-home on Friday 20 March
2020, and some of these employees continue to work
from home at the time of publication. Technology
has been critical in supporting employees to
work from home and remain both productive and
connected with their teams.
12
Beach Energy Sustainability Report l October 2020
Beach’s role in sustainably delivering energy for
communities has been apparent through the
pandemic. With a number of strict safety protocols in
place, Beach’s operational site employees were able
to successfully achieve this objective, even as a
second-wave hit Victoria in the months of
July-September 2020.
Transmission prevention control measures
incorporated across the business include:
· Temperature checks on arrival at sites;
· Health self-screening checks of all personnel
travelling to a Beach site, including all employees
and contractors;
· Restriction of all non-essential travel;
· Restriction of visitors to all Beach operational sites,
permitting only those who are safety critical;
· Restriction in workers on Beach operational sites,
permitting only those who are production or
safety critical;
· Increase in regularity of cleaning of surfaces;
· Increased provision of hand soaps and sanitisers;
· Working closely with contractors who manage
our drilling sites where some of our employees are
present, to ensure their controls are in accordance
with the advice of health authorities;
· Regular updates to all employees from the Group
Executive, HSE & Risk regarding new procedures
and measures to limit exposure to COVID-19;
· A dedicated employee Intranet site, as the source-
of-truth for all company policy, including advice for
limiting potential exposure to COVID-19; and
· Promotion of social distancing in the workplace
where possible.