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Oil field workers do spring ice breakup work in Norman Wells

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0205cov+.jpg John Curran/NNSL photo Imperial Oil's flare stack in Norman Wells. Jan 2008
Imperial Oil workers in Norman Wells are conducting preparatory work for the spring ice break up on the Mackenzie River.
"They've getting the (oil) fields ready for the break up period. They've trying to make sure there are no leaks or issues when the ice comes through," said Norman Wells mayor Frank Pope on April 22.
"The servicing of the islands is done by helicopter now. There's no more traffic on the roads to the artificial islands," he said.
As part of the preparatory work, the company has reduced its rotational workforce by 40 per cent, which has enabled 50 per cent of its Norman Wells resident workforce to work from home, Imperial said in a news release.
The work comes as the company plans a slowdown of production in the coming weeks at its fields in the Sahtu town.
"This is in response to a confluence of factors including the global impacts of Covid-19 and reduced demand for energy. To be clear, our facilities will continue to operate and this change does not impact our ability to reliably provide power to the community," the news release said.