As the COVID-19 pandemic continue to take toll on the fortunes of international companies, the managing director, Shell Nigeria Gas Ltd. (SNG), Ed Ubong, has confessed that the company has been negatively affected by the epidemic.
According to him, the shutdown by its 118 customers at the peak of COVID-19 lockdown compelled the Shell Nigeria to scale down operations.
“COVID-19 has also impacted Shell businesses in Nigeria, Shell Nigeria Gas Limited included. We are not too big to also be negatively impacted. This pandemic is unprecedented,’’ Mr Ubong said.
Speaking during a radio live programme, “Canvass-Niger Delta Roundtable’’, monitored by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa, the Shell boss said that the negative impact of the virus cuts across business sectors.
Ubong said that the decision of the federal government to grant waivers to the energy sector as essential service was a panacea to total collapse. He noted that the pandemic was something that most people alive were yet to experience.
“Except, maybe, the few who were alive in 1918 when there was the Spanish Flu. The world has gone into lockdown for some months, but all of us still require key products and services.
“The pandemic has cut across various industries, travels, manufacturing etc. We have seen significant fluctuations in the price of oil for instance.
“Several businesses have had to declare bankruptcy while some have had to cut down the scale of their operations. So, indeed, all of us have been affected.
“The real challenge for resilient organisations is how to find creative ways to come through this stage in time so that we are still able to operate and provide services,” Mr Ubong said.
On the impact of COVID-19 on SNG, Mr Ubong said that since March, staff of Shell Nigerian Gas has been working from home.
By Chibisi Ohakah, Abuja
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