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PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The petroleum division of mining major BHP is implementing emergency measures to support cash flow to suppliers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The miner on Thursday said that it would be making immediate payments of outstanding invoices and move to seven-day payment terms for the next six months for small and local businesses that support BHP’s Petroleum business.
This is a reduction from the current payment terms and covers over 200 suppliers.
The revised payment term arrangements will take effect in the week starting April 13.
“BHP’s first priority is the safety and health of our workforce and communities. Communities across the country rely on the critical energy resources we produce and we rely on our suppliers to continue delivering this resource,” said BHP president for petroleum operations Geraldine Slattery.
“A cornerstone of the social value of our business is the continued health of the companies we count as partners and suppliers, especially during this time of great uncertainty.”
BHP Petroleum spends more than $150-million a year with its supplier base across the US, Canada, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago.
The miner in March this year reduced the payment terms for small, local and Indigenous businesses in Australia as part of a programme to support its communities and regional economies during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The miner said at the time that it would immediately pay outstanding invoices, delivering some A$100-million more quickly into the hands of small business partners, while also reducing the payment terms from 30 days to seven for more than 1 100 small Australian businesses.