Fuel consumers and the travelling public throughout the country may be impacted over the long weekend by Puma Energy’s restrictions on fuel supply.
The fuel company announced that its fuel stocks continue to decline and will regrettably impact fuels for the aviation and maritime sectors.
The lack of sufficient foreign exchange and restrictions on Puma Energy’s access to financial services has restricted the company’s ability to buy fuel products on the international markets to meet Papua New Guinea’s fuel demand.
According to Puma Energy, the Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG) has not released sufficient USD to the fuel and lubricant company for over seven weeks, despite the FX being provided to the wider market.
Mr. Hulala Tokome, Chairman and Managing Director of Puma Energy Papua New Guinea said that this is an unfortunate and regrettable situation, which we understand has a significant impact on the community.
“It is crucial that we ration the remaining fuel stocks to extend security of supply as much as possible, especially for emergency services, hospitals and key critical infrastructure. We have been forced to implement fuel rationing across all segments.”
He said at the request of the Government, we have done our best over the last few days to protect the aviation sector as we know the critical role it plays.
“Unfortunately, given the delays in finding a solution to the critical issues we face, it is no longer possible for this to continue. As a result, the rationing will regrettably impact the aviation and maritime sectors.”
He said while they continue to engage and work closely with BPNG, the situation is critical.
“We request support from the Government to address the current crisis and accelerate the process of resolving any final outstanding issues with BPNG in order to reinstate Puma’s access to FX and our core financial services.”
Puma Energy intends to return to normal fuel supply activities as soon as these issues are resolved.
They also apologised for the inconvenience and sincerely appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding during this difficult time.