Puma Energy: PNG’s fuel supply secured

PAPUA New Guinea, due to Puma Energy’s investments, has the most secured fuel supply in the region with approximately 80 days of stock capacity, says Puma Energy country manager Jim Collings.
“This puts the country in a very strong position for energy supply and a superior position to some of our close neighbours such as Australia and New Zealand, where their supply security is less than half of this,” Collings told The National yesterday.
“Over the last four to five years, Puma Energy has invested heavily in storage facilities and the Napa Napa refinery’s capability to create a position where we have got approximately 80 days of stock capacity, in either crude or finished petroleum products in our tanks around the country.
“So if there is disruption outside of our country, we are secured, and this position links very heavily into the government’s sustainable energy security for the country,” he said.
“The state and Puma Energy are also very focused on making sure that we have our local resources coming through into local value and manufacturing and into industry which is either employing or actually owned by local people.
“We have got Kutubu crude coming into our refinery, our refinery is the local refinery.
“Our refinery and downstream business is staffed with over 95 per cent nationals. Our retail network of dealers is run by businesses owned by PNG citizens employing more locals.”
Kutubu crude is the local PNG crude produced from the oil and gas fields in the country.
“We have created almost 500 new PNG citizen owned small and medium enterprises in our Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) segment. This is truly about developing a business for PNG and its people,” he said.
Collings said the Napa Napa refinery was currently undergoing its Turnaround and Inspection (T&I) for 30 days as part of its scheduled five year major maintenance programme.
“This maintenance programme is basically to refresh the key refinery units and ensures it continues to operate safely, at a world class level and continuing to produce the high quality fuels we deliver to the market. It will re-open mid-September.”
“The market is fully stocked and no one will notice the refinery is going through its scheduled maintenance. The country and its economy will continue to move as per normal,” Collings said.