IAP was founded by the Decree n° 65-269 of the 11/29/1965 as a public administrative institution (See the agreement on the contribution of the French government to the constitution and the functioning of the Institut Algérien du Pétrole, in July 28th, 1965).

IAP saw its mission widened and specified by the Decree n° 73-51 of 02/28/73, which gave it the name of Institut Algérien du Pétrole, du Gaz, de la Chimie, de la Pétrochimie, des Matières Plastiques et des Moteurs.

The founding of IAP (after that of SONATRACH in 1963) met the particular needs of the time by providing the Energy sector with a qualified workforce to cover the needs of the growing development of the petroleum activity. The Hydrocarbons Sector had to meet from 1964 to 1969 the needs in terms of qualified workforce induced by:

- Pipeline exploitation of Haoud El Hamra,

- Gas pipeline of Hassi-Rmel-Skikda,

- Nitrate fertilizers Complex of Arzew,

- The Management of acquired Rigs Park.

To answer these operational needs, the Sector acquired Specialized Institutes in the field of Hydrocarbons and Chemistry (IAP with the cooperation of IFP and the National Institute of Hydrocarbons and Chemistry (INH) with the cooperation of Goupkine university of Moscow).

These training institutes sprang up as a result of the shortcomings of the higher education system of that time, combined to the important expansion of the economic development. Under Supervision of the Industry and Energy Ministry, IAP had the following roles:

- Higher education in the field of Hydrocarbons

- Industry Training through advanced training and retraining

- Technical and Scientific Research in the fields of Exploration, deposits exploitation and the Transformation of Hydrocarbons.