A Kenol service station near the UN headquarters has been re-branded Rubis, the European company which recently acquired the assets of Kenol and Kobil and understandably those of Gulf Petroleum. Indeed, this will be a major rebrand exercise which will see a simultaneous end of three local brands. This article attempts to record the early history of Kenol/Kobil before it is permanently erased by the acquisition.
Kenol was incorporated and listed on the Nairobi Stocks Exchange (NSE) in late 1950s by Sir Reggie Alexander, a pre-independence colonial politician of Israeli origin. In 1979, the company, with a market share of about three, embarked on a major market expansion programme. To expand its products supply base, Kenol entered into a crude supply and refining agreement with Esso Oil Company (where I was the Supply Planning Manager).
