It was originally founded by Shell and BP to distribute and supply the East Africa with oil products.
The first refinery building with distillation, hydro-treating, catalytic reforming and bitumen production units was commissioned in 1963.
In 1971 the Kenyan government decided to buy in 50% of the shares from Royal Dutch Shell.
In July 2009, Essar Energy acquired 50 percent stake in KPRL for $7 million from Chevron, BP and Royal Dutch Shell.
The board of directors is made up of 6 members who represent the Kenya government who is the sole owner of the company.