Cherry Point is the largest refinery in the Pacific Northwest, with capacity to process about 250,000 barrels of crude oil daily, and the largest supplier of jet fuel to Seattle and Portland international airports.
bp is proud to be a part of Whatcom County
We are passionate about what we do, and how we do it. We are working to help strengthen our communities by operating in a safe and reliable way and investing in our facility and our people through:
Volunteerism
Charitable contributions
Community partnerships
Things you may see and hear
Safety is integrated into every aspect of our operations. Please note that if you hear an alarm on Monday, it is part of our routine test and not an emergency. We conduct a test of our alarm broadcast system every Monday at noon to verify proper functionality and ensure it is audible to everyone in the vicinity.
The white clouds you see above a refinery are steam. In the process of refining, water is used throughout the facility to heat and cool fluids. We reuse water in the processing of our products, generating steam in our boilers and cooling water in our cooling towers. Our steam comes from recycled cooling water. Because of our 24/7 operations, steam is always visible; in fact, the colder the weather, the more steam you see.
A flare is a safety device designed to burn excess gaseous material and relieve pressure from equipment. Sometimes the flaring process is larger or extended during maintenance work, especially during the shutdown and startup of equipment. Our teams work to minimize flaring and complete work activities as quickly and safely as possible. It is typical for flares to be visible. The use of our flares is regulated by the Northwest Clean Air Agency, the Washington State Department of Ecology, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Safety of the environment
Protecting local habitats
bp owns more than 3,200 acres of rural land at Cherry Point, supporting ecological restoration and habitat preservation to protect the region's natural environment. The refinery helps maintain more than 470 acres of surrounding wetlands to support wildlife, grass, trees and shrubs. Additionally, bp Cherry Point supports environmental interpretive programming for the community at the bp Heron Center at Birch Bay State Park.
Advancing operations through innovation
Innovation is an important part of how we work. Cherry Point was the first refinery in the Northwest to co-process renewable diesel made from biomass-based feedstocks. The refinery also recently introduced a robotic system for cleaning crude oil tanks, reducing the need for people to enter confined spaces and cleaning tanks almost 50% faster than manual methods.
Supporting local jobs and businesses
The refinery has more than 1,500 bp employees. Looking for a job? Check out our careers page, where you can sign up for alerts on job opportunities: Careers Page.
In 2025, bp spent more than $550 million in Washington with vendors and paid more than $130 million in property, environmental and business taxes. bp has also invested more than $1.5 billion in capital improvements at Cherry Point over the past decade to help strengthen reliability, improve efficiency and support ongoing operations.
Between 2021 and 2025, bp invested more than $3 million in community programs across the state, including support for schools, chambers of commerce, nonprofits and scholarship programs.
If you live nearby and want to share your ideas with us, receive updates on refinery news, as well as safety updates, connect with us at CHPCommunityAffairs@bp.com. Please include your name, email and the community you live in.
Land management
We help maintain more than 470 acres of surrounding wetlands to support wildlife, grass, trees and shrubs. This work is carried out with guidance from wetland biologists and approval from Whatcom County, the Washington Department of Ecology and the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Marine biologists walk the beach with us, checking the ecological health while we pick up litter that washes ashore.
At the Gulf Road beach, we practice “leave no trace” when unloading oversized equipment.
Amphibian: Cherry Point Refinery co-hosts a free Amphibian Identification and Survey Training with Whatcom County.
Heron: We helped fund the Birch Bay State Park Heron Interpretative Center and granted conservation easements for 180 acres of great blue heron habitat to the Whatcom Land Trust.
Salmon: We partner with the Nooksack Salmon Habitat Association Chums of Terrell Creek to restore riparian habitat.
Cherry Point Refinery works with local farmers to help manage about 1,500 acres of bp-owned farmland.
20-acre active land lease with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife used as a seasonal waterfowl hunting area.
Cherry Point Refinery works closely with archeologists to protect cultural resources important to local indigenous people and the region.
There are many trails within our property boundaries that are open to foot traffic. Members of the public are welcome to use designated trails. These trails are located outside of the fenced operational areas for safety and operational reasons.
Cherry Point’s developed operational footprint is about 1,000 acres. bp optimizes use of existing space through equipment laydown planning and coordination.
Quality assurance laboratory
We are committed to assuring that all fuels supplied by our refinery meet all of bp’s brand requirements, industry specifications, and applicable legal and regulatory requirements. We actively support bp’s goal of no damage to the environment by assuring all discharged wastewater complies with all relevant environmental laws and regulations.
What we do:
Test fuels made by the refinery to confirm they comply with requirements for use in the cars and trucks you drive and the planes you fly on.
Confirm all the wastewater we treat and return to the bay is safe and compliant.
Last year, we:
Certified compliance for billions of gallons of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
Processed almost 50,000 samples.
Performed over 150,000 tests.
