The company’s decline became evident when the government sold some of its stations to the private sector a few years ago. The clear difference in appearance and service, favoring the private stations, confirmed once again that the state is a failed businessman. On another front, the Supreme Petroleum Council approved the restructuring of Q8, the company that owns thousands of fuel stations, particularly in European cities, turning it into a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC).

Q8 continues to operate its overseas stations while also operating within Kuwait. Its corporate structure and ownership are now more closely linked to Kuwait, aligning it more closely with national oil policy and placing it under greater oversight in operations, procurement, and distribution.

Furthermore, to streamline spending and reduce costs through asset consolidation and management, Q8 has been entrusted with managing some or all local fuel stations, instead of sharing this responsibility with other entities. KNPC hopes to benefit from Q8’s expertise in managing advanced, low-emission, and extensive service stations abroad to develop and standardize its retail fuel operations in Kuwait.

Despite Q8’s significant success in Europe, little is known about it domestically. I have never heard of, or read about, any Kuwaitis holding senior positions at Q8 or its high profitability, despite nearly 45 years of operation. Personally, I am not comfortable with companies that are overly secretive about their activities. It is clear, however, that they have failed to develop local expertise capable of fully managing this sector professionally.

As a result, they are unlikely to perform much better than KNPC’s stations and will probably continue as weak competitors to privately owned fuel stations. In this case, the relevant authorities in the country could request the Supreme Petroleum Council to study the idea of granting citizens the right to manage or lease some of the new fuel stations, particularly those located in residential areas.

These stations could offer basic mechanical services under a system that allows citizens to operate them for specific periods while using the KNPC logo and fully complying with its standards and regulations. This would help reduce unemployment among citizens interested in this sector, and provide opportunities within a business framework based on individual initiative rather than the management of large commercial enterprises.