Puma Energy the main supplier of aviation fuel to Myanmar said that it would stop doing business in Myanmar is exiting the country.

In a statement on 5 October the company said that it was selling its stake in Puma Energy Asia Sun (PEAS) and a minority share in National Energy Puma Aviation Services (NEPAS) to a “locally owned private company.”

The announcement came one month after researchers from Amnesty International met with Puma company representatives to present findings from a forthcoming report on the supply of aviation fuel to the Myanmar military, with research supported by Justice For Myanmar.

On the decision to leave Myanmar, Amnesty International’s Human Rights Researcher Montse Ferrer said: “Amnesty International acknowledges Puma Energy’s decision to leave the country, which comes after a long campaign by civil society groups including Burma Campaign UK and Justice For Myanmar who, among others, have placed vital scrutiny on aviation fuel supplies that may end up in the hands of Myanmar’s military.

She added: “Puma Energy must ensure a safe and responsible disengagement now that it is leaving the country, including by providing a transparent and clear roadmap of its plans and preventing the military from accessing its aviation fuel infrastructure. Any valuable assets Puma Energy leaves behind should not fall into the hands of the military or its crony businesses. 

“Puma Energy must also explore ways to remedy any harm it may have contributed to while operating in Myanmar.”

Through PEAS and NEPAS, Puma Energy has been the main supplier of aviation fuel to the country since it commenced operations in 2015.

Shortly after the 1 February 2021 coup, Puma Energy said it was suspending its operations in Myanmar. It subsequently resumed operations but, according to the company, only for civilian purposes.

Several civil society organizations as well as Myanmar’s National Unity Government have called for aviation fuel supplies to the military to be restricted or outright banned as a means of ending the army's air strikes against civilians.

In the past year and half, the Myanmar military has hit civilian communities with multiple airstrikes. The majority of the 400,000 people who have been forced to flee their homes since the military coup last year have fled because of airstrikes or the threat of airstrikes. It causes immense suffering and a humanitarian crisis as families hide without proper shelter and food.

Most of these airstrikes, using jets and helicopters, are happening in ethnic states, and local communities are calling for international action.

Now protesters are targeting another fuel supplier to Myanmar, PetroChina International Singapore Pte Ltd, that shipped 13,300 tonnes of jet fuel into Myanmar in April 2021, according to government import data reviewed by Reuters. PetroChina is a subsidiary of the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

Burmese civil society organizations have called for an embargo of jet fuel sales to Myanmar. "We're appalled that PetroChina is exporting jet fuel to Myanmar, doing business with the war criminals who are conducting indiscriminate air strikes against ethnic communities," stated Justice for Myanmar spokeswoman Yadanar Maung to Reuters.