Puma Energy Papua New Guinea Photo: Facebook.com / Puma Energy Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guineans are facing the prospect of a fuel crisis after the major supplier Puma Energy announced Monday there's "no fuel supply until further notice".
Puma PNG has been struggling to satisfy the fuel market for the past year blaming the lack of foreign exchange to pay for the importing of petroleum.
It has made calls for the central bank, Bank PNG (BPNG), to make more foreign exchange available.
In a statement, the energy provider's chairman and managing director Hulala Tokome said there's no fuel supplies in the country as a result of a supply shortage faced by the company.
Tokome said the company will, however, consider "emergency requirements" on requests.
Last week, the company said it was taking steps to reduce the size of its operations and fuel supply proportionate to the capacity of its remaining banking channels.
"As part of this process, Puma Energy has begun to issue termination notices to customers and will aim to re-negotiate contracts with new terms for lower volumes. In the meantime, remaining fuel stock in PNG will be allocated to emergency services and critical infrastructure as a priority until a long-term, viable solution can be put in place to return the business to its full scale," it said in a statement.
"Puma Energy's decision to reduce its business in PNG comes after careful consideration and extensive engagement with various government stakeholders, including the BPNG, to find a long-term and sustainable banking solution.
"We have exhausted all currently available avenues to maintain the full scale of our operations," the company added.
It also revealed that it will suspend its planned US$150 million growth investment program.
"Given the imminent fuel shortages that will inevitably result from the reduction of our operations, we once again urge the government to form a task force with the utmost urgency to ensure the country can continue to be supplied with fuel and to minimise the impact on communities and the economy."
The company said it employs over 500 direct skilled workers and created over 2500 indirect jobs in PNG through its supply chain.
