Bankrupt Philadelphia refiner paid execs millions in bonuses just after fire: documents

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

BUSINESS NEWS SEPTEMBER 9, 2019 / 2:48 PM / UPDATED 25 MINUTES AGO

Bankrupt Philadelphia refiner paid execs millions in bonuses just after fire: documents

Laila Kearney
3 MIN READ

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Executives of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions oil refinery were paid roughly $4.5 million in retention bonuses after a summer fire that led to the plant’s closure and before the company filed for bankruptcy a few weeks later, court documents show.

PES announced plans to permanently shut its refinery following the June 21 explosive blaze and immediately began laying off many of its 1,100 employees without severance pay or health insurance coverage.

The payments were made on July 5, about two weeks before PES filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and while it was in the process of closing its 335,000 barrel-per-day refinery.

Attorneys for the owners of PES were not immediately available for comment. Reuters could not immediately reach officials from PES.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pes-bankruptcy-bonuses/bankrupt-philadelphia-refiner-paid-execs-millions-in-bonuses-just-after-fire-documents-idUSKCN1VU23Y

[Backseat Driver]

1. (Unintended release of?) "Hydrocarbon Vapors Identified as Cause of Philly Refinery Fire"

https://6abc.com/hydrocarbon-vapors-identified-as-cause-of-philly-refinery-fire/5368469/


[snip, snip, snip] The company emerged from federal bankruptcy court last year after restructuring its debt, leaving its majority ownership in the hands of investment banking firms Credit Suisse Asset Management and Bardin Hill. [snip)
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Damn - Philly PES workers, as taxpayers, got took by these suckers more than once. So much winning! There was this bit of history apparently from before the fire, though the rest of it is behind a "free trial" wall:
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How The Philadelphia Energy Solutions Bailout Affects Other Merchant Refiners
Mar. 19, 2018 8:08 AM ET| About: Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PESC), Includes: CG, CVRR, HFC, PBF, VLO
This article is exclusive for subscribers.
Tristan R. Brown

Summary
The U.S. EPA responded to the bankruptcy of refiner Philadelphia Energy Solutions last week with a substantial bailout by reducing its RIN obligation by roughly $175 million.

The impact of the EPA's decision on the refiner's bankruptcy is unclear given that the filing was largely caused by a poorly-timed logistics contract.

RIN prices hit a one-year low after the EPA's decision was announced, however, reducing RIN expenditures for the merchant refining sector as a whole.

The longer-term impacts of this new precedent are less certain given a recent spate of strong earnings in the sector.

The bankruptcy of East Coast refiner Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PESC) this January less than two years after its failed IPO quickly prompted a regulatory firestorm in Washington D.C. The company's management immediately blamed...[snip]