Note 10 - Third-party Long-term Debt (Details Textual)				1 Months Ended					3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
		Mar. 31, 2024 USD ($) a		Apr. 30, 2023 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2021	May 31, 2021 USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2020	May 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2024 USD ($) a		Mar. 31, 2023 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2022 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2023 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2006 USD ($)
Restricted Cash, Noncurrent		$ 1,000,000							$ 1,000,000					$ 5,000
Amortization of Debt Issuance Costs									50,000		$ 51,000
Repayments of Long-Term Debt									345,000		560,000
Small Business Administration SBA [Member] | BDEC Term Loan Due 2051 [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount														2,000,000
Veritex Community Bank [Member] | LE Term Loan Due 2034 [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount														25,000,000
Nonrelated Party [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount	[1]	2,000,000							2,000,000
Amortization of Debt Issuance Costs									50,000.00		50,000.00
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment	[1]								10,000.00
Nonrelated Party [Member] | Kissick Forbearance Agreement [Member]
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment				$ 500,000					500,000
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment Terms, Balloon Payment to be Paid		400,000							400,000					400,000
Repayments of Notes Payable									1,500,000		$ 0
Nonrelated Party [Member] | John Kissick [Member] | Kissick Debt [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount		11,700,000	[2]						11,700,000	[2]					$ 8,000,000
Proceeds from Issuance of Debt													$ 3,700,000
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment	[2]								500,000
Nonrelated Party [Member] | Greater Nevada Credit Union (GNCU) [Member] | NPS Term Loan Due 2031 [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount	[3]	$ 10,000,000							10,000,000
Debt Instrument, Period of Interest Only Payments (Month)					36 months
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment	[3]								$ 100,000
Area of Land (Acre) | a		56							56
Nonrelated Party [Member] | Small Business Administration SBA [Member]
Debt Instrument, Payment Deferral Period (Month)							30 months
Nonrelated Party [Member] | Small Business Administration SBA [Member] | BDEC Term Loan Due 2051 [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount						$ 500,000
Proceeds from Issuance of Debt												$ 1,500,000
Debt Instrument, Payment Deferral Period (Month)						30 months
Nonrelated Party [Member] | Texas First Rentals, LLC [Member] | Equipment Loan Due 2025 [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount	[4]	$ 70,000.00							$ 70,000.00
Debt Instrument, Term (Month)								12 months
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment	[4]								1,300.0000
Nonrelated Party [Member] | Veritex Community Bank [Member]
Repayments of Long-Term Debt		4,300,000
Escrow Deposit		1,000,000							1,000,000
Legal Fees		40,000.00
Nonrelated Party [Member] | Veritex Community Bank [Member] | LE Term Loan Due 2034 [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount	[5]	25,000,000							25,000,000
Escrow Deposit		1,000,000							1,000,000
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment	[5]								300,000
Debt Instrument, Collateral Amount		5,000,000							5,000,000
Nonrelated Party [Member] | Veritex Community Bank [Member]
Restricted Cash, Noncurrent		1,000,000							1,000,000					$ 0
Restricted Cash Noncurrent, Minimum Required Amount		$ 1,000,000							$ 1,000,000

[1] Original principal amount was $0.5 million; the Blue Dolphin Term Loan Due 2051 was modified to increase the principal amount by $1.5 million. Payments deferred for thirty (30) months; first payment due and paid in November 2023; interest accrues during deferral period; loan not forgivable.

[2] Original principal amount was $8.0 million; pursuant to a 2017 sixth amendment, principal under the Kissick Debt increased by $3.7 million.

[3] Loan requires monthly interest-only payments for the first thirty-six (36) months. Afterwards, principal and interest payments are due monthly through loan maturity. First payment due in November 2024.

[4] In May 2019, LE entered into 12-month equipment rental agreement with an option to purchase backhoe at maturity; equipment rental agreement matured in May 2020; in October 2020, LE entered into the Equipment Loan Due 2025 to finance the backhoe purchase; backhoe used at the Nixon facility.

[5] Restricted cash, noncurrent totaled $1.0 and $0.0 at March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. Restricted cash, noncurrent reflects amounts held by Veritex in a payment reserve account, which is required to have a balance of $1.0 million. Although the amount at December 31, 2023 was $0, the payment reserve account was fully replenished on January 2, 2024.