Kuwait Petroleum International

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section is written like an advertisement.
Please help rewrite this article from a neutral point of view.
Mark blatant advertising which would require a fundamental rewrite in order to become encyclopedic for speedy deletion, using {{db-spam}}. (December 2007)

Kuwait Petroleum International, often referred to by its trademark Q8, refines and markets fuel, lubricants and other petroleum derivatives in Europe. It supplies 4,000 retail service stations, as well as direct sales operations delivering fuel and heating oil to domestic and industrial users. Q8 also operates an International Diesel Service (IDS) - a secure fuel card service supported by automated technology for international road transportation companies - through more than 700 strategically located sites throughout Europe. Q8 also has a significant aviation business marketing jet fuel at more than 40 airports worldwide and a lubricants business with five lubricants blending plants, direct sales and marketing activities across Europe and export sales to over 75 countries worldwide.

[edit] History

1938 Discovery of Oil in Kuwait
1975 Nationalisation Oil wells in Kuwait
1980 Foundation Kuwait Petroleum Corporation
1983 Foundation Kuwait Petroleum International Limited - Acquisition Gulf Oil in the Benelux, Sweden and Denmark
1984 Acquisition Gulf Oil in Italy
1986 Acquisition of Hays Petroleum Services (which had previously been owned by the Kuwait Investment Office, and used the Pace Petroleum brand) and Ultramar in the UK - Introduction of the Q8 brand
1987 Acquisition of BP in Denmark
1987 Acquisition of the Soviet-controlled Nafta in Britain
1990 Acquisition of Mobil Oil in Italy
1997 Joint Venture with Agip - Milazzo refinery in Sicily
1998 Joint Venture OK Petroleum and KPI in Sweden establishing the OKQ8 brand
1998 Acquisition of BP retail Belgium
1999 Acquisition of Aral Belgium
2004 Acquisition of Tango unmanned sites from Petroplus in the Netherlands (62 sites), Belgium (4 sites) and Spain(1 site); these are typically now branded "Q8 Easy"
2004 Sale of UK operations to a consortium operating under the name Pace Petroleum
2005 Sale of Thai operations to the Malaysian company Petronas
2006 Sale of German operation (which had 37 service stations under the Markant brand) to Westfalen

[edit] Origin of brand

A Dhow near Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

When it was launched in 1986, the Q8 brand was an instant success. Its strength and originality made it stand out from competing brands, earning a rapid recognition and awareness in the market places. Today almost 20 years after conception it is still being used as an example of good logo design.

The graceful sails of a dhow, a typical Arab sailboat, recall a rich history that begins somewhere in antiquity with pearl divers. They also evoke the history of what once was a proud seafaring nation. The colours yellow, red and blue symbolise the desert, sun and sea receptively.