It was constructed in 1973, with capacity to refine 24,000 bbl/d of crude oil, and process 1,200,000 tonnes (1,322,774 tons) of feedstock annually.

[5] The refinery is able to produce the following products:[4] (a) unleaded petrol (b) automotive gas oil (c) industrial kerosene (d) domestic kerosene (e) Jet fuel (f) Liquefied Petroleum Gas (g) reformate (h) fuel oil and (i) asphalt.

[4][7] Since then, there have been attempts to bring on-board a strategic partner with funding and expertise to upgrade, modernize and expand the refinery.

[8][9][10] In 2017, the World Bank stated that the Indeni Petroleum Refinery was "inefficient and technologically unsuited for current fuel needs".

[11] In order to meet increasing petroleum products demand both nationally and regionally, there are two choices (a) build a new modern refinery that meets current and future national and regional needs or (b) expand and modernize the present refinery to improve its efficiency and output.