Flying J is a big player here in Kern County. They bought Shell's old refinery here last year and had big plans to modernize the plant and increase the amount of oil it refines.
Guess those plans are in the crapper now with the news that they filed Chapter 11. From Bloomberg:
Flying J Inc., an oil refiner, transporter and travel-center owner, filed for bankruptcy, blaming a cash crisis brought on by declines in oil prices.Good ole Bank of America...god I hate those bastards...and they got a big wad of our tax monies recently ya know....
The Ogden, Utah-based company listed assets of more than $1 billion and debt of $500 million to $1 billion in court documents filed today in Wilmington, Delaware.
Flying J expects to recover from “the precipitous drop in the price of oil” by reorganizing under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code, Chief Executive Officer J. Phillip Adams said in court papers.
The company employs about 16,000 people and is among the 20 biggest closely held companies in the U.S., with sales of more than $16.2 billion in 2007, according to court records. Founded in 1968 with four gasoline stations, it now operates 200 travel centers, two refineries and a 700-mile (1,126-kilometer) pipeline that carries gasoline and diesel from Houston to El Paso, Texas, according to court filings.
Flying J’s cash crisis has grown as oil prices have tumbled, Adams said in court documents. Since September, the company’s access to cash has dropped by $155 million.
On Dec. 19, Bank of American NA seized a “substantial sum of cash” from one of Flying J’s units because the company had allegedly violated loan terms. The bank is the agent for lenders owed $395 million. The next day, another agent refused to allow a different Flying J unit from withdrawing cash from an account, the company said.
Affiliates Longhorn Partners Pipeline LP, Longhorn Pipeline Holdings and Longhorn Pipeline, Big West of California, Big West Oil, Big West Transportation, also sought protection.
Tags: Flying J, Flying J files bankruptcy
