NAMCOR upbeat about retail expansion despite economic headwinds

State-owned oil firm, National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR), has remained upbeat about its aggressive expansion strategy in the country’s retail sector despite the current economic challenges.

The Namibian economy is expected to grow by 2.8% this year, but still faces a myriad of risks including high unemployment levels and widening income inequality that have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

NAMCOR, which is responsible for operationalising the Namibian government interests in the entire oil and gas value chain, says it is targeting to set up 33 operational fuel stations by the end of 2024. The company ventured into the Namibian fuel retail sector in August 2019 with the opening of its first branded site at the Hosea Kutako International Airport.

“Considering the ongoing economic challenges, NAMCOR aggressively applies its strategic retail expansion plan, to cater for the needs of all Namibians – providing jobs as well as offering consumers a wider variety of choice. NAMCOR currently has a total of 13 service stations across the country and has several sites under construction with completion scheduled for different quarters in 2023,” NAMCOR Spokesperson Utaara Hoveka said.

This comes as the government-owned company is due to open its 13^th site in the country on Wednesday in Opuwo – the first site under its retail portfolio in the Kunene Region.

“The site will serve the community of Opuwo and the Kunene Region at large as well as neighbouring regions with fuel and lubricant products. The site is expected to provide a number of direct and indirect economic benefits to the town of Opuwo and the Kunene Region. These include contributions to the coffers of the Town Council for rates and taxes and other municipal services. Opuwo accounts for 20,000 of the Kunene Region’s 60,000 population and is one of the major national tourist attractions,” he said.

NAMCOR last year inked a five-year deal with TransNamib to move more petroleum products by rail for distribution to its depots and customers.

Under the agreement, TransNamib will transport over 3,600 tonnes of petroleum products per month, while at the same time allowing NAMCOR access to its petroleum storage facilities.

Namibia, according to data from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, consumes 90 million litres of fuel per month on average – 60 million litres of diesel and 30 million litres of petrol. The country’s fuel retail sector is currently dominated by the likes of Puma, Shell, Engine and Total.