International
fuel trader Puma Energy is gearing up to enter the fuel retail market in Ghana,
after acquiring Oil Marketing Company – UBI.
Speaking to
the B&FT in Johannesburg during the company’s launch of operations in South
Africa, Chief Operating Officer Christophe Zyde said through the UBI
acquisition the company has got some 18 fuel stations, with an additional two, to
start with.
Puma Energy,
he said, has acquired a licence and necessary authorisation from the National
Petroleum Authority to operate as an oil marketing company in the country.
“Two weeks
ago, we received approval from the NPA to change the name UBI to Puma Energy;
and that, of course, will go hand in hand with rebranding the fuel stations.
You will now see the Puma Energy brand coming up in Ghana,” Christophe Zyde
said.
The company,
he said, has met the NPA’s requirement that stipulates OMCs coming from abroad
should be 50%-owned by Ghanaians to encourage strong local participation in the
business of oil marketing.
“We are
truly a Ghanaian company because more than 50% of our shareholding is
Ghanaian,” he said.
While it is
now entering the retail sector, Puma Energy is not new to Ghana; it is already
a major player in the supply of aviation fuel. The company has a number of
infrastructures in the country -- a 46million litre depot in Takoradi, an
aviation depot at the Kotoka Aiport, and an ongoing 100million litre terminal
in Tema.
The company currently
sells some 6billion litres of fuel in 47 countries globally,19 of which are in
Africa.
“In Africa
we have 660 retail stations, and I can tell you that those statistics are
typically valid only for a week because they keep changing,” Christophe Zyde
said.
“Puma
Energy’s business model is to link demand with supply, through investment in
infrastructure. It therefore makes a lot of sense for Puma Energy to be in
Africa because it is a high-growth area, but there is a lack of
infrastructure,” he said.Source:B&FT
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