2023 Feb 03

On Friday, 3 February 2023, Kuwait Petroleum International turned forty years old

To commemorate the occasion, President and Chief Executive Officer, Shafi Taleb Al-Ajmi, made the following remarks:
 
“As we look back at the Company’s evolution from its establishment on 3 February 1983 till now and the progress we have made, we stand proud of what we have achieved and built upon the work done by the generations of employees that came before us. Since the beginning, the Company has continuously built its business, growing from a small aviation fuel and retail operations in Europe to owning and managing one of the best blending plants in Europe, and operating two state-of-the-art refineries in Italy and Vietnam, with a third refinery in Duqm, Oman due to go onstream by the end of this year.
 
The journey was never easy. The most difficult part of it was in 1990-1991 during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. During that dark period of Kuwait’s history, KPI worked nonstop from its former head office in London and played a pivotal role in protecting our marketing contracts and international business, while the rest of the country managed the crisis from afar. Now, as Kuwait celebrates the 32nd anniversary of its liberation and its 62nd year of independence, we are honoured to carry on the mantle of service to our country from the generations of colleagues that came before us. Our teamwork of our diverse workforce around the world will always be our greatest asset.
 
Today, Q8 stands strong with 3600 professionals and a global downstream business that serves our shareholder, KPC, by marketing approximately 400,000 barrels per day through more than 3500 retail service stations, aviation fuel sales, direct and lubricant businesses. Every one of you contributed to the Q8 journey, and I am honoured to lead the Q8 team, and I would like to extend my gratitude for being part of your inspiring journey.”