Historic oil refinery breaks ground in Pecos County

The first oil refinery in the state of Texas to open in 40 years broke ground in Pecos County Friday.

The 126-acre refinery will be able to process 10,000 barrels of crude oil each day. MMEX Resources Corporation poured $50 million into the first phase of the project, which is expected to benefit the economy.

"It's important to our community and our county. We have a great need to diversify our economy," Fort Stockton Mayor Chris Alexander said.

MMEX Resources Corporation chose the Trans Pecos area because of the crude oil supply, the land availability and the railroad access.

"This railroad goes into the eastern Dallas, Fort Worth area and you can get to the Texas Gulf Coast refineries," Hanks said.

The first phase of the project should be up and running by the end of 2018. MMEX Resources Corp. plans to file permits for another unit, which will be a large scale refinery able to produce 100,000 barrels of crude oil.