KPC was established on 27 January 1980 as a parent company of all Kuwaiti oil companies, by Decree-Law No. 6 of 1980, as a public institution of an economic nature with a legal personality supervised by the Minister of Oil, with a budget independent of the State budget prepared in the manner of commercial budgets by accounting principles.

The purposes for which KPC was established are to carry out all work on the petroleum and hydrocarbon industries in general at all stages within and outside Kuwait, such as exploration, exploration, and production of crude oil and natural gas.

Each oil company has a specific specialization covering one or more of the enterprise's mandated activities.

In 1960, when KNPC was founded, KNPC was the first but only national company in the region where hydrocarbon resources were managed and exploited by foreign companies. The company owners' vision at the time was to stimulate development and provide exemplary expertise in addressing domestic resources. From its perspective, KNPC represented a model of natural capabilities inherent in the management and exploitation of petroleum resources that have evolved into a significant source of income that will contribute to the well-being of Kuwaiti society and cover the expenses of inclusive development.

In 1975, the State acquired KNPC's full ownership, with its operations becoming highly integrated in the production of petroleum products from its three refineries, Shuaiba, Port Al-Ahmadi, and Port Abdullah, and marketing them in the local and international markets.

In 1980, KPC was established as a State-owned asset, in addition to all other oil companies in Kuwait, including KNPC, all of which were transformed into KPC subsidiaries.

At present, KNPC has two refineries producing high-quality products, the Mina Abdullah refinery and the Mina Al Ahmadi refinery, after "National Petroleum" owned the third refinery, the Shuaiba refinery, which was closed in March 2017 following the launch of the environmental fuel project. The total capacity of both refineries is 800,000 barrels of crude oil per day, and the gas manufacturing capacity is 3.125 billion cubic feet per day.

The Mina Abdullah refinery and the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery adopt sophisticated refining techniques, especially after the modernization of these refineries in the 1980s. Among the most important units in the Mina Abdullah refinery are two crude distillation units, two hydrogen production units, three aerial distillation remnants, two vacuum distillation units, one lubricating unit, and three hydrogen fracking units. The Al Ahmadi refinery currently has five sulfur removal units from aerial distillation remnants, the Gas Oil Vacuum Hydrogen Fracking Unit, and the liquid catalyst fracking unit, as well as five hydrogen production units, the hydrogen recovery unit, and the sulfur recovery units, in addition to the combined sulfur granulation and storage facilities.

National Petroleum is also responsible for the manufacture of all quantities of gas produced in Kuwait's oil fields and gas produced in the company's refineries. It now has 5 gas manufacturing lines that fully meet local gas needs, both for electric power generation and for petrochemical, household, and various industries.

Domestically, KNPC's responsibility is to sell and distribute all petroleum products on the domestic market. KPC and KNPC have taken a step towards allocation, already starting in 2004 with the transfer of ownership of their marketing assets in the domestic market, such as the lubricant oil plant and gas stations to private companies

"National Petroleum" has 65 fuel packing plants throughout Kuwait, of which 4 are mobile. A five-year plan for the construction of 82 more fuel stations is underway in response to the growing demand for gasoline and other fuels in line with urbanization and the establishment of new housing towns.

In 2022, KNPC implemented several major projects at the beginning of the year, aimed at enhancing transformative capacities. The most important project to be mentioned is the Environmental Fuel Project to expand and develop the Mina Abdullah and Mina Al Ahmadi refineries, which have become an integrated refining complex with a total capacity of 800,000 barrels per day. This project enhances Kuwait's global position in the oil refining industry.

In addition to the evolving increase in transformative capabilities, operational excellence, reliability, and safety levels have been greatly enhanced in the Mina 'al-Ahmadi and Mina' Abdullah refineries, and energy is used efficiently. The two refineries now produce high-quality products compatible with the most environmental requirements, such as Euro4/Euro5, which contributes to opening new markets for the company's products. These products will meet domestic and international demand for clean fuels.

The products produced by the project units are characterized by reduced environmental impacts owing to their significantly reduced content of nitrogen oxides, sulfur, and other contaminants. For example, sulfur content in gasoline has been reduced from 500 ppm to 10 ppm, as well as diesel from 5,000 ppm to 10 ppm. All this will allow the company to break into new markets.

Also important is KNPC's "Fifth Gas Line", a strategic project at the regional level, and part of KPC's strategy to increase Kuwait's gas production and manufacturing capacity to meet domestic needs. After the completion of the project, the total capacity of "national petroleum" to manufacture gas became 3.125 billion cubic feet per day.

Meanwhile, the company pays special attention to its human component, applying the policy of steadily increasing the employment of national workers and supplying the company's various locations with highly efficient human resources. At the end of March 2023, Kuwait's employment rate was 90.7% of the total workforce of the company with 6,260 employees.

Kuwait Gulf Oil Company was established on February 10, 2002, as a wholly owned company of KPC for oil and gas exploration operations. Kuwait Gulf Oil Company represents the State of Kuwait in the divided area located on the Kuwait-Saudi Arabia border. Natural resources in the divided region are distributed equitably and evenly between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Kuwait Gulf Oil Co. operates in the divided area in cooperation with representatives of Saudi Arabia, Aramco Gulf Business in Al Khafji, and Chevron Saudi Arabia in Wafra.

Founded in 1983, Kuwait World Petroleum Company (Q8) is the international arm of KPC and one of its most important businesses is the marketing and sale of fuel, lubricants, and other petroleum derivatives to Europe.

The company has a global network of 4,700 gas stations in seven countries in Europe (Italy, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg). It has a sophisticated car wash service. Denmark is a leader in the "car wash service" sector.

KPC has entered into strategic partnerships and alliances with several global companies to expand its operations. One of the most prominent partnerships is Duqm's joint venture with the Oman Oil Company, to establish a refinery and petrochemical complex in the Sultanate of Oman, which is one of the largest energy projects in the Middle East. The project is located in the Duqq economic zone with a daily refining capacity of 230 thousand barrels per day.