About the refinery
Nestled in the verdant farm lands of northwest Washington state, BP's Cherry Point refinery has quietly provided a significant portion of U.S. energy needs for more than 30 years. Now it’s being positioned to meet the challenges of a diverse and rapidly changing energy market.
Since it started operations in 1971, our Cherry Point refinery has processed a large share of Alaska North Slope crude oil. It’s a refining workhorse that became one of BP's premier U.S. assets following the merger with ARCO in 2000.
Today, with about 560 full-time workers and 375 contractors, the facility processes more than 225,000 barrels of crude oil a day, primarily transportation fuels – or enough gasoline to keep one million cars on the road each day. It provides about 20 percent of the gasoline market share in Washington and Oregon, 85 percent of the jet fuel at Seattle International Airport, and is the largest west coast supplier of jet and diesel fuel to the U.S. military. Gasoline and jet fuel are also supplied to Vancouver, Canada, and markets in California, Arizona and Nevada.
Largest producer
The refinery – the fourth largest on the U.S. west coast – also produces multiple diesel fuels, propane and butane, and about 2,700 tons a day of anode grade calcined coke used by aluminum smelters, making it one of the largest calcined coke producers in the world. The refinery is laid out on about one square mile, with the total property owned at 3.75 square miles (2,400 acres).
The refinery once processed Alaska North Slope crude oil exclusively – directing that product to West Coast markets. But today, with the decline of Alaska crude oil production, the strategic thrust is to create crude oil processing flexibility – or the ability to process low-cost crude oil stocks from a variety of sources.
Cleaner fuels
As part of this strategic plan, Cherry Point has completed construction of a $115 million Clean Gasoline Unit to produce a near sulfur-free gasoline that exceeds current and future product quality specifications. An $85 million Clean Diesel unit is under construction for start-up in 2006. With the addition of this new equipment, the refinery will produce ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel that meets or exceeds all on-road diesel regulations. Besides clean gasoline and diesel, major modernization plans include construction of a $480 million co-generation plant that will produce steam and 720 megawatts of power a day, which is slated for operation in mid-2008.
To comply with an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cherry Point will undertake three “sunshine” projects over the next few years totaling $50-$60 million to address source emissions such as vent gas from sulfur pits, modifications to the tail gas unit and sulfur dioxide control.
Safety and health
Cherry Point recently received high marks from Washington state's occupational safety and health administration following a safety audit, and in recent years has received numerous safety awards from the National Petrochemical and Refinery Association.BP Cherry Point Products:
- Gasoline – five grades for different locations
- Jet fuel – commercial and military
- Diesel – three grades
- Fuel gases – propane, butane
- Calcined coke
- Sulfur
- CO2
Daily Production:
- Gasoline – 3.5 million gallons, enough to fuel 5,500 autos for a year
- Jet fuel – 2.5 million gallons, enough to fuel 130 flights from Bellingham to San Francisco
- Diesel – 2.2 million gallons, enough to drive a long haul tractor over two million miles
- Propane – 140,000 gallons
- Butane – 360,000
- Calcined coke – 2,700 tons
- Sulfur – 215 tons
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