Chevron CEO urged staff to improve safety days before fatal Angola platform fire

In an internal video message on April 29, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth urged employees to reinforce safety standards following a rise in serious incidents. “We’ve seen a concerning increase in serious near-misses, especially over the last few weeks,” Wirth said in the two-minute video seen by Reuters. He warned that some of these incidents “could have resulted in fatalities,” the media agency reported on June 9.

The warning came shortly after Chevron announced plans in February to cut up to 20% of its workforce to reduce costs amid falling oil prices. Other energy firms, including ConocoPhillips and oil services provider SLB, have also announced layoffs as revenues drop to four-year lows.

In the video titled “Do it safely or not at all,” Wirth acknowledged ongoing changes inside the company and externally, stressing that safety must remain a priority. He addressed concerns that stopping work or raising safety issues might seem risky, stating, “It is not.”

On May 20, a fire broke out on a Chevron-operated deepwater Benguela Belize Lobito Tomboco (BBLT) platform about 97 km off Angola’s coast, killing three workers and injuring 15. A government source told Reuters at the time that the incident happened during the same week Chevron was due to restart operations after a planned annual maintenance shutdown at the facility, which began producing oil in 2006.

According to the company’s sustainability report, Chevron recorded 12 serious injuries and one fatality in the previous year.

Clay Neff, Chevron’s recently appointed president of upstream, addressed the fatal Angola incident in a May 30 video. He said some of the injured workers were still receiving treatment and confirmed that an investigation into the fire’s cause was ongoing.

Neff reinforced Wirth’s earlier message, noting a rise in reported close calls involving routine tasks where minor differences in time or distance could have led to severe consequences. “These were close calls where seconds or feet could have changed everything,” he said, stressing that no one was immune to risk.

Neff concluded his video message by urging staff to understand the risks, plan properly, and ensure the right skills were in place. “Nothing matters more than everyone going home safe,” he said.

Chevron has since implemented company-wide “safety stand-downs” – dedicated meetings to pause operations and discuss safety concerns. Marissa Badenhorst, vice president of health, safety and environment, explained that these sessions prioritised safety over production. “We hear what is getting in their way, what they’re concerned about … and then we learn and we start work back up,” she told Reuters.