It is the largest public sector refinery in India with a production capacity of 15.5 million tonnes per year.

Kochi Refinery started when Government of India, Phillips Petroleum Company of USA and Duncan Brothers & Company Limited of Calcutta signed an agreement for the construction of a petroleum refinery in south India, in Kochi, Kerala.

Production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) commenced after this expansion.

A fuel gas de-sulphurisation unit was installed as part of this project to minimise sulphur dioxide emission.

CRL entered into petrochemical sector in 1989 when aromatic production facilities with a design capacity of 87,200 tonnes per year of benzene and 12,000 tons per annum of toluene was commissioned.

A Biturox Bitumen Oxidation Unit of 378,000 tonnes per year capacity was successfully commissioned and started-up in 2008.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) acquired the Government of India's shares in KRL in March 2001.

With a turnover of around US$2500 million, the refinery aims to strengthen its presence in refining and marketing of petroleum products and further grow into the energy and petrochemical sectors.

The company entered the International Petroleum business stream when its first parcel of Fuel Oil was exported in January 2001.