(Ecofin Agency) - Puma Energy has announced that it has obtained a licence to operate as an Oil Marketing Company in Ghana.

According to the Chief Operating Officer Christophe Zyde, the company has obtained a licence and essential authorization 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.

He added that Puma has fulfilled all the NPA’s conditions which specifies that international Oil Marketing Companies should be 50%-owned by Ghanaians in order to inspire strong local involvement in that area of business. “We are truly a Ghanaian company because more than 50% of our shareholding is Ghanaian,” he said.

Puma already operates in Ghana with a 46million litre depot in Takoradi, an aviation depot at the Kotoka Aiport, and an uncompleted 100million litre terminal in Tema. The company presently sells 6 billion litres of fuel in 47 countries worldwide; 19 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. 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,” Zyde told Business and Financial Times.

Anita Fatunji