Puma and MPPE will partner in importing, storing and distributing jet fuel. The agreement comes after several months of negotiations.

The Myanmar Investment Commission has issued a temporary permit for the partners under the name National Energy Puma Aviation Services Co Ltd. Yesterday, MPPE director U Myint Zaw said it is an advance permit before the entire project is completed.

“It will take a lot of negotiations for the entire thing,” he said.

The main locations of the joint venture will be at the No 1 Refinery in Thanlyin township southeast of Yangon, where there is a storage facility, and also at Yangon International Airport to manage jet fuel distribution and service.

While the project is starting in Yangon, it will later be rolled out across the country to 10 domestic airports.

The jet-fuel joint venture is the first of several such planned ventures between the Ministry of Energy’s state-owned enterprises and private companies.

It has taken some time to finalise the project – the tender opened in May 2014, and Puma was declared the winner in December.

A total of 23 local and international companies had signalled interest, though Puma was declared the winner, with Thailand’s state firm PTT as the runner-up.

The Ministry of Energy said its goal is transform many of its state-owned enterprises into joint ventures with foreign businesses in an effort to improve their operations.

For its part, MPPE is keen to improve its methods of importing, selling and distributing jet fuel and other services at an international standard.

“The joint venture is not because we’re losing money, it’s because we need to update the business to an international standard,” said U Myint Zaw.

MPPE holds a monopoly on distributing jet fuel in the country at 11 domestic airports. It sold 35 million gallons (132 million litres) last year, and expects to sell 37 million gallons this year.

Puma Energy is a mid- and downstream petroleum company that has been active in other businesses in Myanmar. It also won a tender last year to construct a harbour and oil tanks at Thilawa special economic zone.

The Thilawa harbour will be able to handle medium-sized vessels, while there will be oil storage with a capacity of 3.1 million cubic feet for petroleum products, including jet fuel, according to previous information from the company. Puma is active in supply, storage and distribution of petroleum products in 35 countries.

Puma Energy was also one of the final two candidates to form a joint venture in the Thanlyin Refinery project, though the ministry ultimately cancelled the tender earlier this year.

Last year, Robert Jones, Puma Energy’s chief operation officer, said that Myanmar is becoming a significant part of our business, though the company has not replied to more recent request for comment on the refinery and on the jet fuel tenders.