KPC's origins are rooted in epic drama worthy of any Hollywood classic.

It is a child of the turbulent 1970s, when conflict scarred the Middle East and world oil markets followed a rollercoaster ride. These were the twilight years of colonialism and the coming of age of nationalism when the people of the developing world were demanding their own sovereignty, especially over their national assets.
To understand the context of KPC's birth one must understand the forces of those tomes.
Kuwait had been fully independent since 1961 and a UN member since 1963. Kuwait enjoyed a fully functioning democratic parliament with ambitions of ensuring that Kuwait had full control over its own destiny and that her reserves were conserved for future generations.
Several other Arab countries had completely nationalised their oil industries. Iran had done so as early as 1951. The 1973 Arab-Israel war had just been fought and Opec had become a force to be reckoned with.
Great Britain had withdrawn from the Gulf, yet Kuwait's greatest physical hydrocarbon resources were still the property of the original foreign KOC concessionaires the UK's BP and America's Gulf Oil and had been since 1934. The situation couldn't continue; it was a question of national sovereignty.
In fact an agreement had been reached between the KOC partners and Kuwait's former minister of finance and oil Abdulrahman Al Ateeqi, in October 1972 for the government to acquire 25 per cent of KOC rising to 51 per cent in 1983 but that was not satisfactory to Kuwait's parliament who rejected it.
The popular demand for sovereignty over the country's resources was too great for that.
The parliament was concerned that the oil was being extracted too quickly and being converted into devaluing dollar so it instructed KOC to limit production.
At the time, BP and Gulf, concerned to get as much as out of Kuwait before KOC was nationalized, were pumping annual average of about 3.3 million bpd even reaching 3.7 million bpd. This only increased pressure for nationalisation. The first concrete move towards this came in early 1974, when the Kuwaiti State acquired 60 per cent of KOC.
At the time, Kuwait's return on the oil industry, apart from jobs for its citizens and agency opportunities was through royalties on the volume of oil pumped and a share of the profits through taxation from KOC and Aminoil, the American consortium which had held the Neutral Zone concession since 1948 and had built the Mina Abdullah Refinery in 1958.
The acquisition was under what was known as the 'Participation Agreement', dated January 29, 1974 and ratified by Law 9 of that year.
The question has often been raised as to why Kuwait did not then take over all of KOC. The concept of 'participation' being partial ownership achieved by negotiation rather than complete nationalisation was devised consciously because outright nationalisation would disrupt relations with the oil companies who controlled access to the markets, and would put the exporting countries in the business of selling oil, with which they experience. Besides being a matter of sovereignty, oil is also very much a business. Kuwait would have to compete with other exporters for markets. Fears were that this would lead to a dramatic collapse in the price structure as each producing country tried to meet its national budget in the face of declining prices by moving larger volumes of oil to the market. Although several other major Opec producers had gone the path of outright nationalisation, it was not something that Kuwait was ready for at the time. The original 1974 Participation Agreement called for a review of the relationship between the Government and BP and Gulf prior to the end of 1979. However, events moved quickly.
In August 1974, the government formed the Supreme Petroleum Council, Kuwait's paramount oil body to consider how best to build the new indigenous oil industry. At the time, the Ministry of Finance and Oil were one organisation, but on February 9 1975 they were split into separate Ministries with Abdulrahamn Al Ateeqi assuming the Finance portfolio and Abdul Mutallab Al Kazemi being appointed the Minister of Oil.
The following month, Kuwait announced that it would take over all of the oil industry and entered into discussions with the KOC partners, BP and Gulf.
By December 1975, an agreement had been reached whereby the government acquired the remaining 40 per cent of KOC.
The final agreement was signed for Kuwait by Minister of Oil Abdul Mutallab AI Kazemi, for BP by P I Walters who later became BP's chairman and for Gulf by M L Ralston. Parliament approved the deal with Law 10 of 1976.
But Kuwait was still a long way from having a fully integrated oil industry. It was not in the same position as the oil majors, who had established markets for the oil from oil fields who could refine it and transport it to markets.
Now that the government had at least the most important part of the industry, the oil fields, in its hands, it had to figure out how to make the best use of that resource.
Perhaps the most important factor then was the establishment of the Supreme Petroleum Council which brought together some of the best minds in the country to consider how to plan for the future, but without the problems of bureaucracy. They were able to get to the point quickly and to make recommendations to the Government. The role of the Ministry of Oil also changed temporarily. Prior to nationalisation its main function had been overseeing the operations of the foreign oil companies which produced Kuwait's oil and managing relationships with other oil producing and consuming countries. 1975 saw the takeover of KNPC, and March 16 1976 saw the takeover of PIC. Aminoil with its Neutral Zone operations and Mina Abdullah Refinery was nationalised on September 19, 1977. The Kuwait Wafra Oil Company was formed to take over its operations.
The development of Kuwait's oil industry was given a great boost in early 1978, when Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah became the Amir. Sheikh Ali Al Khalifa Al Sabah was appointed Minister of Oil and immediately went to work on how to consolidate Kuwait's oil industry into a world class player. The government acquired KOTC on June 17, 1979.
Performance through Integration: With all the major pieces of the industry now in its hands, the Government put the final touches on how to make them work together in the most effective manner possible. The answer was KPC. It was formed in January 1980. The shares of KOC, KNPC, PIC and KOTC were transferred to the new corporation.
KPC successfully welded all the oil companies into one integrated oil industry and the new structure allowed central planning of the industry with more effective and efficient distribution of the work, closer co-ordination between various elements and the better use of engineering economies of scale which are so important in a thriving oil industry. Each company was to focus on their own activity which provided the commercial flexibility necessary to run a successful oil business. KPC took over the function of marketing Kuwait's oil outside Kuwait from the Ministry of Oil.
KPC began expanding its operations worldwide. Kufpec was established in 1981 with the responsibility of exploration and production outside Kuwait and in 1983 Kuwait Petroleum International was set up in London and proceeded to build a European wholesale and retail network by acquisition and development.
KPC's growth over the years in now a legend.
Kuwait is now truly the mistress of her own oil industry and KPC is now an oil major by all standards.
Historical Link: The links between Santa Fe and Kuwait stretch back to 1951 when Santa Fe began drilling in the Neutral Zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. This relationship grew from strength to strength and lead to KPC acquiring Santa Fe some 30  years later.
In December 1981, Santa Fe was bought by KPC. Both parties stood to gain greatly by this acquisition. Santa Fe gained the benefits of being part of a major Opec producing company and KPC would gain access to an internationally renowned drilling company with exploration and production assets. This was the culmination of a three-decade long relationship during which a strong mutual respect had developed. Santa Fe would retain its name and would keep its management team. It would be business as usual with an enhanced capability for both parties.