Puma fuel supply increases

By PETER ESILA
PUMA Energy continues to produce and supply the energy demand Papua New Guinea requires and it has the potential for exporting and supplying the Pacific region, country manager Jim Collings said.
Collings said there was enough fuel to supply PNG and even the Pacific with 80 to 90 days of stock capacity at its Napa Napa refinery, outside Port Moresby.
Following the T&I (turnaround and inspection), production increased from its designed 32,500 barrels per day (BPD) to 33,000 BPD.
“The prime minister sees a very important role for us to play in expending what we do to only locally, but also creating the next step in our dream, which is creating Port Moresby and PNG as a hub for exporting into the wider Pacific region, to really help our country take a true position as a major supply within the region,” Collings said in regards to Prime Minister James Marape’s hope for PNG to one day be able to supply the region.
The Napa Napa refinery has successfully completed its scheduled five-year T&I project and reopened last week.
Puma Energy operations manager Binoka Ahtson said the T&I, from Aug 10 to Oct 7, created improvement opportunities which will lead to more investment opportunities and energy security for PNG and the Pacific.
“Global markets are adjusting to a vast new supply of oil and gas flowing from new technologies in North America and other countries,” he said.
“Energy demand growth has been moderated by the economic showdown with China and the sluggish growth in Europe, the US and elsewhere.
“And the shared concern for mitigating the risk of climate change is influencing energy policies and industry efforts around the world, in the midst of these challenges, our industry continues to thrive.
“We continue to innovate to produce energy in ways that are increasingly safe, secure and environmentally responsible.”
Napa Napa refinery supplies the domestic market and processes the Kutubu crude which is the local PNG crude produced from the oil and gas fields in the country.
From the raw material (crude), refined products such as petrol, diesel, kerosene, Jet A-1, neptha and low sulphur waxy residue are produced and supplied to the market.