Less than three months after Energy Minister Modestus Amutse awarded a multi-billion-dollar single-supplier deal to Vitol Energies, questionable quality aviation fuel imported by its local subsidiary has forced airport authorities into crisis mode at the country’s flagship international hub.
This comes after the international fuel giant Vivo Energy Namibia has detected and quarantined a consignment of off-spec Jet A-1 aviation fuel destined for Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA).
The quality defect prompted the Namibia Airports Company (NAC) on Wednesday to officially announce aviation fuel supply challenges at the nation’s flagship airport, raising concerns over potential stock shortages for both passenger and cargo carriers.
Both airport authorities and Vivo Energy have moved to allay public safety concerns and fears of widespread supply disruptions following the discovery, which occurred during offloading tests at Walvis Bay last week.
The Issue understands that Vivo’s internal quality control protocols and independent auditors flagged the off-spec shipment. The consignment was immediately isolated, with additional samples dispatched to South Africa for secondary laboratory testing. Verified test results are expected to be released today.
Vivo Energy Namibia is the licensed distributor and marketer of Shell-branded fuel and lubricant products across the country, operating as a subsidiary of Swiss-based Vitol Energies.
The quality breakdown comes less than three months after Minister of Industries, Mines and Energy Modestus Amutse granted Vitol Energies an exclusive, multi-billion-dollar single-supplier contract to meet Namibia’s conventional fuel demands.
Amutse’s justification for his actions was that he was ensuring the consistent supply of affordable fuel to Namibia in light of the turbulence caused by the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Industry officials familiar with the down-stream oil supply chain told The Issue that the decision to grant Vitol exclusive supply rights has directly compromised security of supply at HKIA.
While the NAC maintains active supply concessions with both Puma Energy Namibia and Vivo Energy Namibia, sources indicate Puma will in future struggle to fulfill its concession obligations. This follows logistical difficulties created by the government directive compelling all local distributors to purchase exclusively from Vitol, forcing competing firms to alter or suspend independent importation channels. As things stand, Puma can only import Jet fuel, while having to rely on Vitol for Petrol and Diesel products. This is making the importation of Jet fuel alone economically not viable.
Puma Energy did not respond to The Issue’s questions at the time of publication.
In a formal statement issued by Vivo Energy Namibia, spokesperson Lazarus Nafidi confirmed the specification failure while emphasising that containment procedures were executed immediately.
“VEN can confirm that a consignment of Jet A-1 aviation fuel received at Walvis Bay was identified, through routine quality testing, as not meeting the required specification,” Nafidi said.
Nafidi stressed that the affected product was isolated before entering the commercial distribution chain.
“At no stage was the fuel supplied to any customer or introduced to the aviation fuel supply chain,” he said, adding that the company acted promptly to inform key stakeholders and affected clients.
Vivo is currently sourcing certified replacement stock to mitigate operational downtime at the airport.
“Any replacement supply will be subject to independent testing and certification before release, in line with VEN’s standard quality assurance procedures,” Nafidi said. “The safety of our customers and the integrity of our products remain our highest priority.”
