(Ecofin Agency) - Puma Energy is making plans to fill what it calls a growing market gap for cleaner fuels in South Africa, where demand is growing ahead of the capacity to supply.

The company, officially commenced operations in South Africa this week. Meanwhile it has before now, invested about $150 million to develop storage, logistics and retail capacity both locally as well as in Mozambique.

The investments, however formed part of a broader global investment drive, which involves more than $2-billion since 2002 and the establishment of 350-million litres of storage capacity.

Puma gained particular regional prominence from 2010 till date. 70 of its 123 retail sites have been rebranded as Puma Energy stations in centers like Cape Town, Durban, Nelspruit and more is to be included soon.

According to the company’s Chief Organizing Officer, Christophe Zyde, South Africa’s local sources of fuel supply are gradually being enhanced with imports and Puma Energy has plans to increase its share of this market as time goes by.

“We are already the biggest independent supplier in the country. We believe we now have a solid base from which to grow organically. However, we will continually review acquisitions that are supportive of our strategy to build a national presence,” Zyde told Engineering news.

Anita Fatunji