New guidelines on drug testing and illness management for employees

IPIECA, the oil and gas association promoting environmental and social performance during the energy transition, and the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) have published two documents intended to serve as guidance for employers.

The first document, Recommended Practices for Drug and Alcohol Testing for Oil and Gas Contractors, summarizes the components of drug and alcohol testing programs for oil and gas companies and aims to promote consistency of practices across companies and improve the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace.

Contractors have historically faced a variety of complex challenges in complying with the substance abuse/abuse testing requirements of various owners and operators in the oil and gas industry. The recommended practice identifies key elements of the drug and alcohol program and is intended for use by contractor companies and owners and operators in the oil and gas industry.

The second document, Infectious Disease Outbreak Management, provides guidance on preventing, identifying and controlling infectious disease outbreaks. It also provides advice on reviewing lessons learned to enable continuous improvement in infectious disease management.

The oil and gas industry operates in many locations where people work and often live together in close quarters, such as offshore installations, ships and remote camps. In such locations, infectious diseases can spread quickly, infecting workers and disrupting operations.

Long-distance travel is common and workers may live in locations other than their place of work, thereby being exposed to endemic or seasonal diseases in another country and bringing them to the workplace.

The guide has been developed for local management and operational personnel working at these sites.

Here are the recommended drug and alcohol testing practices for oil and gas contractors.

Here you will find guidelines for managing infectious disease outbreaks.