The Shell Puget Sound Refinery is the second largest of four refineries located in Northern Puget Sound in Northwest Washington State. There are two refineries located near Anacortes. The one currently operated by Shell Oil, was originally constructed by the Texas Company in 1958. The refinery was built to supply West Coast markets originally with Canadian crude oil. The refinery was called the Texaco Anacortes Refinery from 1958-1998.

The second refinery in Anacortes was originally constructed under the Shell Oil Company name, located just to the north of the Texaco Refinery. In 1998 when Shell and Texaco created the joint venture called Equilon, regulations prohibited two Shell locations in such close proximity to each other. Tesoro Petroleum bought the original Shell refinery located north of the present Shell refinery. The original Texaco Anacortes refinery became known as the Equilon Refinery from 1998-2002. In March 2002, when Texaco merged with Chevron, Shell Oil Products US acquired full ownership of the Equilon refinery and continues to operate it as the Shell Puget Sound Refinery.

Safety, health and environmental protection are the highest priorities for the refinery. Located in the pristine waters of Northern Puget Sound and at the gateway to the spectacular San Juan Islands, protection of the environment is a primary concern. The refinery won the Shell CEO's Environmental Excellence Award for three years in a row, as well as receiving other environmental recognition. Safety is the other top priority and refinery employees have also been recognized for safety performance, winning Gold Awards from the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association.

More than 400 people are directly employed at the refinery. Approximately 250 additional contractors are also employed on an on-going basis. Employees are represented by USW and are very involved in the local Anacortes and Skagit County communities, playing a vital role in making this area a great place to live.

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