At Marathon Petroleum, our priority is to protect our employees, contractors and the communities we serve as we continue providing the fuels and other products that are essential to keeping us all safe.
Marathon Petroleum has had a pandemic response plan in place for many years. Since January, as the COVID-19 outbreak has spread, we have reviewed and updated our plan, guided by global health experts including the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, local health authorities, and state and federal governments.
Additionally, Marathon Petroleum is promoting proven personal hygiene practices to employees, including frequent handwashing, covering coughs and sneezes and minimizing physical contact where possible. As many U.S. states have implemented “social distancing” measures to reduce the probability of spreading the virus from otherwise healthy people to those most at risk, Marathon Petroleum has introduced remote working programs; limited attendance and duration of meetings; restricted visitors at our facilities; and actively encouraged employees to avoid large crowds and unnecessary physical contact. Other company policies have been updated to reflect the changing work environment and to accommodate the needs of our employees.
Other measures in place have included targeted travel restrictions; self-quarantine guidelines; additional cleaning protocols; business-continuity plans to accommodate staffing needs in the event of illness-related absenteeism; working with critical suppliers to ensure ongoing support in the event of illness-related disruptions; providing additional hand-sanitizers at owned-and-operated retail stores; and communicating frequently to all employees regarding the risks of COVID-19, and mitigation steps they should take to protect themselves and others.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic Marathon Petroleum donated personal protective equipment to local healthcare providers This donation included nearly 40,000 masks to local and regional Michigan hospitals, including Beaumont Health System, Wayne Campus, Henry Ford Hospital, Beaumont Children’s Hospital and the Helen DeVoss Children’s Hospital.
Additionally, the Detroit refinery made a $5,000 donation to the to Detroit Public Safety Foundation to assist the needs of DPD and DFD during this unpreceded time. And a $5,000 donation has been made to the Detroit Area Salvation Army so they can continue their valuable work in the face of COVID-19.
The energy industry is critical to the nation’s infrastructure and the Detroit refinery is maintaining production capabilities. We are necessarily exempt from some state and local restrictions in order to ensure this service and have implemented other measures at our facilities to protect our employees, contractors and the communities we serve. We continue to monitor the latest local and national developments regarding COVID-19 and adjust our response to the situation daily, as events warrant.
Please stay safe and healthy,
Dave Leaver,
General Manager
Detroit Refinery