As in other business sectors, also in our (O&G) the high concern is the uncertainty of the impact that Covid-19 will have on the future of our everyday (working) life in general and especially on EU economy, which means consequently on our current and potential customers. Since the declaration of pandemic and epidemic of Covid-19, different measures and regulation have been establish in present countries. These measures are changing daily which has different effects on our and our clients businesses, so it is necessary that we all adapt to the current situation as quickly as possible and on a daily basis if necessary.
“In BU O&G the current work, ongoing projects, maintenance and communication with our customers and partners are running smoothly”, said Vito Efer. “From Monday 16th of March, our colleagues from D&D are working from home on smart work mode”. Although the situation was not easy to handle (and still is not), the awareness of seriousness led by the preparation and adaptation to new unclear events, was very well organized by our Company. The processes were well arranged and very effective, since the first day smart work has been established. We had no major problems and received positive feedback from our colleagues. Even though we can sense in the air that there is a lot of uncertainty about the current situation and especially what will happened after this health crisis, the working atmosphere is relatively energetic. Still, we must stay focused, well prepared with different scenarios and put additional effort and attention to our employees and of course our clients/partners.
We are aware that Covid-19 will undoubtedly have major impact on future economy and consequently on our sector, which means on our current and potential customers, at least on a short to mid-term. The crisis has already begun in a way, as oil prices dropped to their lowest level in the past 17 years and the stock values of biggest players in the sector felt drastically. Due to the different state measurements and regulations, our customers had to change operating hours of their Service Stations (SeS) and they are also experiencing significant decline of visits and sales on SeS. Furthermore, predictions for the future are not optimistic: it is expected that the travel and retail consumption will be directly impacted by Covid-19, resulting in decrease in consumption on a short term, led by the decrease in consumer demand, which will affect our clients too.
However, as in all past crises, many different opportunities will surely arise and this is where we must focus in the near future. In the meantime, we must stay ready and well prepared to be able to challenge the upcoming.
