Woodside Petroleum has backed away from a proposal to require contractors to be away from home for 14 weeks at a time, and will instead introduce shorter work cycles and home leave that adhere to COVID-19 rules but still involve increased payments.

The extensive roster changes needed under the mobility rules for the pandemic are imposing extra costs on oil and gas producers just as global crude oil prices have fallen to fresh 17-year lows, with some analysts forecasting further declines to below $US20 a barrel. Already, rock-bottom prices have forced the suspension of exploration and new projects and the dismissal of hundreds of contract workers, and are pushing small, cash-strapped players towards distressed asset sales.