Blue Dolphin's Nixon Refinery Revived by the Eagle Ford

Nixon Refinery Map - Blue Dolphin

Blue Dolphin's Nixon refinery is reaping the Eagle Ford harvest. It's a real estate thing - "Location, Location, Location".

The Nixon Refinery was originally purchased in June of 2006 for $16 million, but Blue Dolphin has been investing to get the plant back to spec after being idled for years.

The refinery began taking Eagle Ford crude early in 2012 and has capacity for 15,000 b/d. As of the third quarter of 2012, Blue Dolphin was running the refinery at about 70% of capacity or 10,500 b/d. The refinery's location in the heart of the Eagle Ford provides local feedstock that doesn't need to be transported hundreds of miles. The plant's inland location also positions it well for getting premium product prices. It's a win-win for Blue Dolphin.

Nixon Refinery Photo

Here are a few more details related to the Nixon Refinery:

• 15,000 b/d of capacity
• 40-48 degree API crude
• Transport in and out is by truck
• The facility is further inland than most Gulf Coast refineries and can get better product prices
• 130,000 bbls of crude storage
• 135,000 bbls of product storage
• 56-acre facility has room for expansion

This isn't Blue Dolphin's only stake in South Texas - Blue Dolphin Purchased An Option to Buy the Ingleside Refinery - Jan 2012. The Deal is still being negotiated, but growing Eagle Ford crude production only makes the refinery more attractive.

You can also read more from an article published by Vicki Vaughn at MySA.com

Blue Dolphin Purchases Option to Acquire Ingleside Refinery

Blue Dolphin Energy has purchased a 180 day option  to acquire an idled refinery in Ingleside, TX. Lazarus Texas Refinery owns the idled facility. The refinery was built in the late 70s and had capacity of 40,000 b/d. The facility sits on 100 acres of land and has a barge dock that provides direct access to Gulf Coast waterways. 210,000 barrels of storage is currently leased and 475,000 barrels of storage tanks are being refurbished.

Blue Dolphin owns a refinery in Wilson County. The Nixon Facility is running 10,000 b/d of Eagle Ford crude. A re-commissioning of the Ingleside facility will require complete inspection and refurbishment where needed. The various storage, terminal, pipeline, barge, and processing portions of the plant could be re-started and operated independently of each other.

Blue Dolphin Enters the Eagle Ford Shale

Blue Dolphin enters the Eagle Ford Shale processing game through its latest acquisition. The facility sits near Nixon, TX, between Gonzales County and Wilson County. Processing capacity is 15,000 barrels per day with storage capacity of 295,000 barrels.

"Houston-based Blue Dolphin Energy Co. (OTCQB: BDCO) has acquired a processing facility in the Eagle Ford shale play."

"Blue Dolphin bought the 56-acre Nixon Crude Processing Facility from a privately held company in an all stock transaction."

"The Nixon Facility is in the final phase of refurbishment and should restart this quarter."

The processing facility is actually an idled refinery that Blue Dolphin will likely refurbish and bring back online.