Unusual times call for innovative measures, so the planned unveiling of new energy technologies in Singapore during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic required a unique approach. ExxonMobil Singapore planned to have a physical foundation-laying ceremony for a new investment to upgrade its Jurong Island manufacturing complex in April, but the spread of COVID-19 forced a rethink.
Not willing to potentially risk the safety of attendees or its employees, the energy company took its ceremony online, bringing together ExxonMobil management and Singaporean government officials in a virtual event.
The move was welcomed by the Singaporean government as an innovative solution and another building block in the long-standing relationship between the country and the company.
“This foundation laying is taking place in an exceptional time. The COVID-19 outbreak has become a global pandemic, precipitating an unprecedented global crisis,” Singapore Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean said.
“As a result, we had to change our original plan today for a physical foundation-laying ceremony.
“I am glad that ExxonMobil has thought out of the box and arranged for a virtual ceremony.”
ExxonMobil Asia Pacific chairman and managing director Gan Seow Kee said, “The virtual ceremony was an undertaking for the extraordinary times that we are in, with COVID-19 impacting the way we live and how we work.”
“Yet, as history has shown, necessity is the mother of invention. This virtual ceremony is an example of how we can get to innovative solutions with agility, teamwork and technology,” he added.
Gan Seow Kee during the virtual ceremony to mark progress of a project for the deployment of technology for cleaner, higher value fuels and lubricants in Singapore
The virtual foundation-laying ceremony included two locations in Singapore and one in Dallas in the United States.
This project at Jurong Island will expand the energy company’s capabilities in Singapore and create more than 135 new jobs when completed.
It will utilise newly developed technology that allows the facility to get more from each barrel, creating more energy-efficient, lower-sulphur fuels and high-performance lubricants.
“These cleaner, high-performing products will help our customers reduce their emissions and environmental impact,” Gan noted.
