Blue Dolphin Energy Company (BDCO)

[Enterprising Investor]

Shareholder Letter (11/20/17)

November 20, 2017

Fellow Stockholders:

Let me start by acknowledging that 2016 and 2017 have been challenging years. Refining margins were extraordinarily thin, we experienced a significant disruption in our business operations, and Lazarus Energy, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary, received an unfavorable outcome in arbitration proceedings with a significant long-standing relationship. Despite these challenges, we are weathering the storm.

Steps we have taken to improve our financial stability include:

Nixon Facility Expansion Project. In mid-2015, we implemented an aggressive capital improvement project at the Nixon Facility to increase total petroleum product storage capacity to 1,000,000 bbls. The project is nearing completion with only one (1) petroleum storage tank remaining unfinished.

Crude Supplier Change. Following disruptions in crude oil and condensate supplies during 2016, we began sourcing crude oil and condensate from another supplier. This new supplier, a major integrated oil and gas company, provides crude oil and condensate to the Nixon Facility under a month-to-month evergreen crude supply contact.

Refinery Production and Product Sales Improvements. We began selling all our jet fuel immediately following production, which minimizes inventory, improves cash flow, and reduces commodity risk/exposure. Further improvements include plans to increase refinery production by 3,000 barrels per day through de-bottlenecking efforts and an upcoming refinery turnaround.

Working Capital. We reduced our working capital requirements in a rising cost environment by decreasing costs, reducing inventory levels, improving our sales cycle, and requiring pre-payments from certain customers.

Combined with favorable refining margins, our efforts have started to pay off in our bottom line. Blue Dolphin saw an improvement in net income for the three months ended September 30, 2017, reporting net income of $3,945,519, or income of $0.36 per share. Comparatively, Blue Dolphin reported a net loss of $1,938,551, or a loss of $0.19 per share, for the three months ended September 30, 2016.

In closing, I want to thank our stockholders who have supported us. I also want to thank our people. What they have accomplished during such trying times has been extraordinary. I am optimistic about our future, and I look forward to further stabilizing our operations.

With regards,


Jonathan P. Carroll
Chairman of the Board,
Chief Executive Officer and President

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/793306/000165495417010888/bdco_def14a.htm