Blue Dolphin is a small independent downstream energy company based in Nixon, Texas. Its core operation is a 15,000 bpd crude distillation tower — a simple topping unit refinery — that processes light sweet Eagle Ford crude into jet fuel and intermediate petroleum products including naphtha, heavy oil base mix, and atmospheric gas oil. Jet fuel is the primary finished product and is sold mostly to an affiliated entity, which resells it to the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency under preferential pricing tied to the affiliate's HUBZone certification. Intermediate products are sold as feedstock to wholesalers and refiners in the Texas Triangle region. Blue Dolphin also owns roughly 1.25 million barrels of petroleum storage capacity at the Nixon facility, which it leases to third parties for crude, condensate, and refined product storage. Blue Dolphin's refining business is a margin business — profitability depends on the spread between crude input costs and refined product prices. The topping unit lacks cracking or coking equipment, limiting the product range but allowing some flexibility to shift output mix. Blue Dolphin has no employees of its own; all operations are managed and staffed by an affiliate controlled by CEO Jonathan Carroll, who controls roughly 84% of voting power. That same affiliate supplies crude oil, purchases most jet fuel output, and provides a revolving credit facility to fund working capital. This deep reliance on affiliated entities is a defining feature of Blue Dolphin's business model and financial condition.