Namibia Extends Vitol's Sole Fuel Supply Deal to October

Namibia's energy ministry has extended international fuel trader Vitol's sole right to supply the country's fuel for October 2026, describing the extension as a final, one-off arrangement that will not be renewed.

"The extension is intended as a once-off final arrangement and will not be renewed beyond October 2026," ministry executive director Moses Pakote told The Namibian on Thursday.

Vitol had already held the sole right to supply Namibia's fuel for July, August and September, an arrangement Pakote said was intended to secure 100% of the country's fuel requirements at a flat basic fuel price during a period of significant volatility in international oil markets.

Opposition renews criticism over lack of tender

The original decision to award Vitol sole supply rights had already drawn criticism in June over the transparency of the procurement process. Rodney Cloete, shadow minister of international trade for the Independent Patriots for Change, said the extension to October raises further concerns.

"The arrangement was concluded without an open tender, under the emergency of the Iran conflict, with one foreign trader supplying the whole country's petrol and diesel," Cloete said.

He argued that repeatedly extending the arrangement through public statements, without a formal tender process, had turned what began as an emergency measure into something closer to a standing procurement method.

"An emergency that is extended by press statement, with no instrument anyone can read, has stopped being an emergency and become a procurement method," he said.

Cloete noted that fuel prices rose in September and said decisions on fuel supply should be communicated more clearly to Namibians.

He called on the minister to table the extension instrument and its pricing basis in the National Assembly, publish an invitation for fuel supply proposals covering the period from November 1 within seven days, and gazette the relevant coordination regulations before the current arrangement lapses.

The Namibian understands the energy ministry will issue a request for proposals for bulk fuel supply covering November to January, a process that would mark a shift away from the single-supplier arrangement in place since July, if it proceeds as planned.