Lazarus has reportedly been working to renovate and bring the Nixon refinery back into production after purchasing it in 2006.
Built in 1981 to environmental specifications meeting current requirements and idled since 1993, the Nixon refinery is expected to re-commence operations by June 2008, with an initial crude oil processing capacity of 15,000 barrels per day, and a projected increase in daily throughput capacity to 20,000 barrels by early 2009.
The Nixon refinery will process light, sweet crude oil into an initial estimated 220 million gallons per year of petroleum products, with the annual rate expected to increase to 300 million gallons.
Those products will include diesel and jet fuel, as well as naphtha and atmospheric tower bottoms, both of which are reportedly highly valued by other refiners as feedstock for producing gasoline.
SMF Energy noted that the Nixon refinery is surrounded by high quality local crude production and benefits from direct pipeline access to crude oil. It has 265,000 barrels of storage on its 56-acre site and is expected to realize a positive transportation differential to the San Antonio market for its finished products, together with access to a number of other refineries for feedstock production.
