Today, Q8 employs 3600 professionals worldwide, markets approximately 400,000 barrels per day through its aviation, direct and lubricant businesses, and has more than 3500 retail service stations.
From 2012 to 2015 Q8Oils blending plant in Antwerp, Belgium, went under construction, including a new blending facility and related bulk storage and a new warehouse for storing additives.
KPI worked with its JV partners, Idemitsu Kosan, Petrovietnam, and Mitsui Chemicals, to build the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Project (NSRP), the largest refinery in Vietnam with a capacity to refine 200 thousand barrels per day of Kuwait Export Crude. In 2018, KPI began construction on another JV refinery with OQ (formerly Oman Oil Company) in Duqm, Oman. This megaproject, known as OQ8, will have a refining capacity of 265 thousand barrels per day and will come onstream at the end of 2023.
In the early 2000s, KPI expanded its market shares in the Netherlands by acquiring part of the BP network and the automat network (TANGO). In Belgium, Q8 become the second biggest market player due to the acquisition of BP and Aral networks. In 2006 Q8Avaiton started up of Rotterdam import facilities for NW Europe supply.
Major expansions continued in the early 1990s, such as the purchase of the Mobil network in Italy. With a focus on global expansion, Q8 began operations in Spain in 1992 and acquired BP's Luxembourg assets two years later. Q8 started to grow in the Italian market, with a JV refinery with AGIP (later acquired by ENI) at Milazzo and invested further in Italy's retail stations. Additional investment was made in Belgium, and a further joint venture with OKF resulted in the birth of OKQ8, Sweden's largest retail fuel market player.
Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) was established on 3 February 1983 when KPC acquired most of Gulf Oil's refining, marketing operations, and aviation fuel business consisting of five airports in Western Europe, in addition to BP's Danish operations. In 1984 KPI purchased the Gulf Oils aviation business in Hong Kong. The Company in 1986 established its headquarters in London to manage these assets and launched its brand, Q8. In 1987 KPI began to supply aviation fuel to London Heathrow airport and, in 1988, purchased Mobil Oil Italiana together with eleven airports.
