Puma Energy PNG Group of Companies says they are unable to continue maintaining the necessary supply of fuel to their customers due to pending approvals of their foreign exchange (FX) by relevant authorities.
In a statement released this afternoon, Puma stated, “For several months we have been working closely with various stakeholders to ensure sustainable flows of foreign currency, which is critical to buying fuel on the international market.
“Unfortunately, due to pending approvals of our FX by the relevant authority, we are unable to continue maintaining the necessary supply of product to all our customers.”
However, Puma stated that they will continue to work hand-in-hand with the relevant authorities to ensure security of fuel supply for PNG.
Air Niugini on Wednesday, January 4, 2022, released a statement advising the travelling public that due to issues with Puma Energy accessing US Dollars, Puma had suspended the supply of Jet A1 fuel within PNG including to Air Niugini and all other airlines effective from today.
Air Niugini stated, “We have done everything possible to ensure that this situation did not occur and that we could continue to support the people of Papua New Guinea especially as they return from their Christmas holidays. The airline can assure all our customers that we are completely up to date with our payments to Puma Energy and this regrettable situation is 100 percent outside the control of Air Niugini.
“We will continue to work with all concerned in order to ensure normal operations can resume as quickly as possible.”
Meantime, BPNG has clarified that commercial banks are responsible for the distribution of foreign exchange to their clients and not them.