Namibia: Puma Energy–NAC Jet Fuel Battle Highlights Tensions Around Airport Procurement in Southern Africa
Namibia’s High Court has ruled in favour of Puma Energy in its dispute with the Namibia Airports Company (NAC) over access to refuelling infrastructure at Eros and Andimba Toivo ya Toivo airports. While the ruling temporarily restores the fuel operator to its facilities, the underlying dispute over the aviation fuel tender award remains pending before the Supreme Court, prolonging an uncertainty that weighs on the operational stability of Namibia’s aviation sector.
A Dispute Rooted in a Contested Tender
The dispute originates in the January 2022 award of the aviation fuel supply contract for Eros and Andimba Toivo ya Toivo airports to Central Oil Namibia, in a deal valued at N$222 million. Puma Energy Namibia, the incumbent operator at these facilities, challenged the decision before the High Court, arguing that NAC had failed to comply with Namibia’s public procurement legislation — specifically contending that the value of the transaction required review by the Central Procurement Board rather than a direct award by NAC itself.
Having lost at first instance, Puma Energy took the matter to the Supreme Court under case number SA 19/2024, where the appeal remains unresolved on the merits. In the interim, NAC had agreed to continue using Puma Energy as its aviation fuel distributor pending the outcome of the proceedings.
The January 2026 Operational Escalation
The situation escalated in January 2026, when NAC unilaterally terminated this interim arrangement. Puma Energy’s staff were locked out of refuelling areas at Eros and Ondangwa airports, with gates padlocked and security personnel deployed to prevent any resumption of operations. This prompted Puma Energy to file an urgent application with the High Court, invoking spoliation and seeking immediate restoration of access to the aprons, taxiways, fuel tanks and offices it had previously occupied.
The court granted this request on 2 April 2026, ordering NAC to restore Puma Energy’s possession of the facilities in question. A dispute over interpretation nonetheless followed: NAC maintained that the order only required it to restore physical access to the premises, not to authorise the resumption of actual refuelling operations. A subsequent High Court ruling clarified the matter, confirming that the restoration order did entitle Puma Energy to resume its fuelling business at both airports.
A Dispute That Extends Beyond the Courtroom
This Namibian case fits into a broader pattern of realignment in Africa’s aviation fuel market, where Puma Energy holds a long-standing dominant position across several Southern African markets — Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique, Eswatini — while remaining subject to regular scrutiny from local competition authorities. The Namibian Competition Commission had previously examined allegations of excessive pricing by the operator in the aviation segment, underscoring sustained regulatory vigilance around its market position.
For states and airport operators, this type of dispute exposes the fragility of procurement procedures in a sector where continuity of service is critical: any interruption, even temporary, in the supply of Jet A-1 or Avgas directly exposes airlines operating domestic and regional flights to operational disruption risk. For investors and fuel operators active on the continent, the case also illustrates the legal risks tied to airport supply contracts, where winning a tender does not necessarily guarantee effective takeover if the award procedure itself is contested.
Outlook: Toward Lasting Clarity on the Rules of the Game?
The substance of the case — the final award of the aviation fuel contract at Eros and Andimba Toivo ya Toivo — remains suspended pending a Supreme Court ruling, with no hearing date yet set. Beyond the Namibian case itself, this dispute raises a structural question for Africa’s airport sector as a whole: the robustness of public procurement frameworks in an area where energy supply security directly underpins the reliability of air transport. As several Southern African markets see growing interest from major international oil groups in the aviation segment, how Namibian authorities ultimately resolve this case could set a precedent for the handling of future airport tenders across the continent.
