This leader runs the Pacific Northwest’s largest refinery

bp’s Cherry Point refinery, in Washington state, plays a critical role in fueling the West Coast, with the ability to process about 250,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

It’s the largest supplier of jet fuel to the Seattle and Portland international airports and was the first refinery in the region able to co-process renewable diesel made from biomass-based feedstocks. In fact, the refinery represents one of bp’s biggest investments in America, with more than 900 employees and supporting more than 31,000 jobs.

In 2024, Karen Miller joined bp as Cherry Point’s top executive, tasked with ensuring the refinery continues to thrive by safely providing the energy the  West Coast needs today, and well into the future. Miller grew up in Los Angeles and studied chemical engineering at Vanderbilt University. She has led several sites both for Valero and Shell in North America. In a recent interview, she shared insights about refining, safety, and leadership.

Here’s an edited excerpt:

1. What’s your background, how did you end up working in the energy industry?

My parents were educators, and I had a lot of support from them as a young student. My high school offered an opportunity for students to focus on math and science, or in humanities. I was good at science, particularly chemistry, and so I went down the math and science track with good success.

In college, I was hired for an internship at a refinery in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and that was my first time seeing a plant in person and how it operates. I was excited about the work, and that has stayed with me ever since.

2. What stands out to you about working for bp?

People at bp are continually trying to improve. I think that’s a unique strength.

One of the challenges I’ve seen large organizations struggle with is getting too rooted in certain ways of working, or doing things the way we’ve always done them, instead of being open to change. What stands out to me with bp is the resilience of the company and its people. When we’ve been challenged by setbacks, we come through it and try to learn from what happened. We’re constantly trying to understand our own strengths and weaknesses.

3. What do you see as Cherry Point’s strengths?

I could say a lot about Cherry Point, and I think it comes down to this: its strength is that people really care. People have deep ownership here, and it’s very clear to see. When I sit down with people in engineering, maintenance, commercial or operations here at the refinery, there’s a clear passion around leaning in, being very good at our work and being safe. People have tremendous pride in working at the site, and it leads to strong performance and delivery.

4. What can Cherry Point do to eliminate our most serious risks?

Our teams have a heightened awareness about process safety because of the [potentially] severe consequences of an incident. People here are passionate about continuing to learn and get better in the process safety space. We talk about protecting the plant with ownership. We think: It’s my job to protect the refinery from incidents. It’s my job to protect coworkers. It’s my job to do something the right way. We don’t expect that someone else is doing it. It's all our jobs, and I really admire that. That said, risk elimination is a never-ending journey. We must continue to have a “What could go wrong?” mindset and be vigilant to engineer out hazards and have strong systems and processes in place to mitigate our risk.

5. How can we continue to build trust in the community? 

We need to be out in the community, engaging with people and telling our story. We care deeply about working safely and protecting the refinery and community from incidents. We care about our environmental compliance and stewardship. We care deeply about our people, and we offer a supportive work environment with opportunities that can be life-changing.

I think when people in the community meet us, it helps them understand that we aren’t separate from the community – we are part of the community. We live next door to each other, our kids go to the same schools and play on the same sports teams. We share the same values because this is our community too.

6. What’s your vision for Cherry Point refinery in 20 years?

Over time, we’ll likely see a change in the world where there is less reliance on traditional fossil fuel products. Refineries that continue to operate will need to be very competitive in all ways, especially with access to competitive feedstocks. This is one of the reasons we’re turning feedstocks into renewable diesel fuel – with much success.

Over the next 10 to 20 years, some refineries will struggle to stay in business. But if we focus our business in the right way, reduce our environmental impacts and operate the refinery in a safe, compliant way, then I think we’ll continue to operate well into the future. We need to be smart about how we manage our costs. We need to invest in ways that grow our margins relative to our peers. That may include growth in co-processing of renewable diesel, and potentially sustainable aviation fuels.

7. What advice do you have for young people beginning their careers in the industry?

Refining and producing energy for the world is a fun business for many reasons. The financial challenge is always there, and it takes smart minds to figure out how to make this business work. It’s always changing, never boring and there’s so much to learn. If you’re up for the challenge, it can be very intense at times, and like any good challenge, very satisfying.

8. What person has had a big impact on you as a leader?

When I was a young engineer, I recall one site manager who was a bit prickly. He was gruff, edgy and sort of barked a lot of orders, and his demeanor made it difficult to contradict his viewpoint.

As challenging as that situation was, I learned that it’s important to show confidence and not be afraid to put your best work out there and stand by it. He could be difficult, but he helped me understand the importance of being prepared to defend my positions. I learned to give myself permission to be knowledgeable, and that it’s going to be okay if I’m wrong sometimes. Own what you know and own what you do. Sometimes it feels like the feedback is challenging your values or your competence, and it can be unnerving. But put all that in a box, be confident in who you are and keep going. I tell that to my son.

9. What’s the best advice you have been given?

Always know the problem you’re trying to solve.

In one of my first jobs as a manager, a unit supervisor who worked for me was having a tough time with operators who felt he wasn’t there for them. I tried to coach him to work with his team differently, without knowing the root cause of the problem, and it didn’t lead to success. Later, I learned that his challenge stemmed from the fact that he was really doing two jobs, both as a unit supervisor and a unit specialist. It was an unbearable amount of work that he was doing, but I didn’t realize it at first.

That’s why understanding is so important. I think most people come to work to do the right thing, and when something goes sideways, it’s not because they intended it that way, but something in their belief system led to that. A good leader challenges that belief system and learns deeply from what doesn’t go well.

10. What should any person at Cherry Point know about you?

People should know that I believe in Cherry Point, and bp believes in Cherry Point. I’m excited to come to work here, and I recognize that there’s something special about this refinery and its people. I’m not here to change Cherry Point, but to help it be the best that it can be. If I’m successful, it will be because I helped the refinery capitalize on its strengths.

There’s clearly a secret sauce here, and there’s room for growth. We can be more consistent, and we can leverage our strengths in more spaces. That’s the opportunity before us, to leverage our strengths. If we do that, then the sky is the limit.