A year ago, Blue Dolphin's Nixon refinery ran at a net loss. In the three months ended June 30, 2026, it posted net income of $17.7 million.
BLUE DOLPHIN ENERGY CO OTC: BDCO
The swing in gross profit — the gap between what crude oil costs and what finished products sell for — carries most of the story. In the second quarter of 2025, that margin was $0.6 million. A year on, it was gross profit of $25.1 million, according to a press release Blue Dolphin attached to an 8-K filed with the SEC on August 17. The filing does not specify which factors widened the margin.
The cash position moved sharply over the same stretch. At the end of 2025, Blue Dolphin held about $2 million in cash and restricted cash combined. By June 30, that figure had risen to $31.7 million. The press release attributes the build to strong first-half operating results but provides no further breakdown.
For the six months ended June 30, the company reported net income of $32.5 million, against roughly half a million dollars in the same period a year earlier. Second-quarter revenue came to about $144 million.
"Blue Dolphin's disciplined operational execution within the continuing environment of geopolitical and market volatility drove strong financial results and significant cash generation," Chief Executive Jonathan P. Carroll said in the release.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation — a measure of operating cash generation — came to $24.4 million for the quarter. In the same quarter a year earlier, the figure was $88,000.