McKee got its start in the 1930s as a natural gas processing facility. A small refinery was started a few years later and in the 1960s, ammonia production was added as well. In the 1980s, the natural gas processing facility was idled as Maxus diverted its gas to its new plant a few miles to the west. The crude oil refinery grew rapidly in the period from 1970 to 2000 with the addition of a modern fluid catalytic cracking unit in 1978, a gas oil hydrocracker in 1987, a second crude train in the 1980s, and several other processing units. McKee products are shipped via pipeline to markets in the local area, i.e. Amarillo and Lubbock, as well as Dallas/Fort Worth, New Mexico, El Paso, TX, Denver, CO, and Colorado Springs, CO. LPG is shipped to Mont Believie, TX via pipeline as well.

In 1956, this plant suffered huge explosions and fires causing the death of almost 20 people including most of the volunteer fire department of Dumas. Smoke could be seen for miles and it was not until the foam trucks were brought in from Amarillo Air Force Base that the fire was finally brought under control days later.

Here's the link to the documentary film about the Shamrock-McKee Refinery Explosion of 1956 - that killed 19 volunteer firemen and plant workers.

www.the56fire.com