HOUSTON, Jan. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Dolphin Energy Company (Nasdaq: BDCO) ("Blue Dolphin" or the "Company"), an independent oil and gas company, today provided an operational update on the Nixon Refinery.

Blue Dolphin reported that start-up operations at the Nixon Refinery are progressing well.  The refinery is currently in a recommissioning phase, which is expected to go on for the next couple of months. During the initial 10 day start-up run, the refinery successfully processed 7,500 barrels of oil per day into diesel, naphta and residuals. At full operations, the facility is expected to process in excess of 15,000 barrels of oil per day and store 295,000 barrels of crude and refined oil products.

Blue Dolphin also announced that Thomas J. McReynolds, Jr., 52, has joined the Company as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. McReynolds brings more than 29 years of business leadership experience in finance, accounting, treasury and risk control, as well as mergers and acquisitions expertise, to Blue Dolphin's executive management team.  Prior to joining Blue Dolphin, he served as a Principal of Stinnett & Associates LLC, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Seminole Energy Services LLC and Managing Director of Corporate Planning at Dynegy, Inc.

"Blue Dolphin is pleased with the Nixon Refinery's progress so far and we anticipate closing the transaction for its acquisition within the next month," said Ivar Siem, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "TJ's solid energy and finance background makes him a great fit for this new role and we welcome his contributions as we realign our efforts for long-term growth."

Blue Dolphin Energy Company (Nasdaq: BDCO) is engaged in the gathering and transportation, as well as the exploration and production, of oil and natural gas. For additional company information, visit Blue Dolphin's corporate website at http://www.blue-dolphin.com.

Certain of the statements included in this press release, which express a belief, expectation or intention, as well as those regarding future financial performance or results, or which are not historical facts, are "forward-looking" statements as that term is defined in the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  The words "expect", "plan", "believe", "anticipate", "project", "estimate", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and such statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including but not limited to our ability to continue as a going concern; collectability of a $2.0 million loan receivable, net of credited and recovered amounts; our ability to complete a business combination with one or more target businesses; our ability to improve pipeline utilization levels; performance of third party operators for properties where we have an interest; production from oil and natural gas properties that we have interests in; volatility of oil and natural gas prices; uncertainties in the estimation of proved reserves and in the projection of future rates of production, the timing of development expenditures and the amount and timing of property abandonment; costly changes in environmental and other government regulations for which Blue Dolphin is subject; adverse changes in the global financial markets; and potential delisting of Blue Dolphin's common stock by Nasdaq due to non-compliance with Nasdaq listing requirements.  Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and outcomes may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.  The Company undertakes no obligation to republish revised forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

SOURCE Blue Dolphin Energy Company