An executive order has been issued from the President of the Russian Federation instructing that the week from 30 March until 3 April is to be a non-working week. As a direct consequence of this, all non-essential workplaces are to temporarily close with immediate effect, including all Rusneftegaz corporate and regional offices. However, due to the fact that we have a plethora of continuous operations that cannot be suspended or shut down, all staff should be aware that their managers will send electronic communications tomorrow to inform whether it will be necessary to report to work during this period. As these facilities will continue operate as normal during this timeframe, our board of directors has published a comprehensive plan to mitigate the threat of coronavirus on our operations, and also to minimize the number of staff required on these sites. Foremost, this shall entail substantially increasing the number of both internal and external communications regarding the pandemic, as recommended by Rospotrebnadzor, to ensure each member of our workforce is alert to inherent risks of contagion. In order to help facilitate this, posters are to be displayed outlining these changes, and all new procedures will be constantly reviewed for their effectiveness by management. Any deliberate attempt to undermine these new procedures will result in disciplinary action. Considering these major developments, our Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Aleksandr Filyurin, subsequently issued these remarks:
“This is not only a very concerning time for Rusneftegaz, but for the entire world. It would normally be very disappointing to have to shut down parts of the business, but considering the circumstances, I can honestly say that I support this decision. This appears to be a major threat to us, and at the moment saving lives is more important than our profit margins. I hope that I can reassure all our staff by saying that we are doing everything we can to prevent the spread of coronavirus here at Rusneftegaz by taking all the measures that we can. From a personal perspective, I have no intention of placing my family and I in any form of danger, so we will not be returning until it is safe to do so. Fortunately, by taking action now, I think we will be able to return in a few weeks, all this will have passed, and we will be safe again. I also think it is a good time for the board and I to place on record our thanks to all our staff that will be working as normal during this time. I would also like to thank all the staff who will be working from their homes for the next few weeks. We are facing a difficult time, but we are doing so together, and I pray to God that this will end and we can return to normal soon.”
As an organization with a broad range of interests, each business within our company grouping will be affected uniquely, and whilst management has deployed the utmost diligence in the preparation of these measures, they are still subject to change if advice from external bodies is modified. For those asked to report to work, all staff are to face temperature checks upon arrival, with any workers displaying an abnormal result being ejected from the site immediately. All workers are to have access to hand sanitizer in every room, and all workstations are to be routinely disinfected by cleaning staff throughout the day. Similarly, the handover procedures for shift changes have been reconfigured to minimize personal contact, and all meetings are to be cancelled or held electronically. Likewise, selected members of our staff will begin to work remotely, and any employees enrolled on education programs will now complete their courses electronically rather than at an institution. All business travel, both in Russia and internationally, has been suspended with immediate effect. Correspondingly, the board of directors is set to deliberate the future on the 2020 Annual General Meeting in consultation with key stakeholders, whilst all other corporate events due to be held in April have been postponed indefinitely. As a consequence of these changes, we will have limited capacity to respond to any nonessential communications during the week of the closure, including to any electronic or telephone messages. Therefore, we request that all staff queries be directed to their manager, who will have received a comprehensive briefing with regards to these new arrangements. External questions via all the existing channels are still welcome, but may be affected by our reductions in working capacity throughout this period. We necessitate your cooperation and understanding with this vital matter.
