Regional Oil Sands Operating Alliance encourages collaboration during pandemic

June 2020 – During the COVID-19 public health emergency, collaboration within the oil sands industry is more important than ever.

“The Regional Oil Sands Operating Alliance (ROA) was established in 2017 to improve efficiency and safety within the industry through collaborative business practices” explains Shannon McDougall, Principal, ROA Chair & Cenovus Strategic Partnerships. “In the face of enormous challenges relating to COVID-19, cooperation between ROA Participants has become critical as we share learnings, best practices and work together to source critical supplies for our sites.”

As we learn more about the disease and the challenges it presents almost daily, representatives of ROA Participants have been meeting twice a week to discuss solutions relating to the rapidly changing needs of companies, and above all else, the health and safety of workers.

By providing a forum to connect members, companies have been able to coordinate and source a variety of supplies to share across oil sands sites – no easy feat under current supply shortages. Over the next few weeks, the PPE that has been sourced for ROA Participants that otherwise would not have been available, will be delivered and used for preventative health measures and safety protocols in response to COVID-19.

“During this challenging time, ROA has provided an opportunity for oil sands companies to discuss their COVID-19 protocols to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our people.” says Shannon McDougall. “There has been a lot of great collaboration between companies, which is a real good-news story coming out of this pandemic.”