PCF Saleco Working With Phillips 66 to Avoid Bankruptcy

SALT LAKE CITY -- PCF Saleco LLC is working with Phillips 66 to resupply fuel to its outlets and avoid bankruptcy after a dispute that led to some of its gas stations being stuck without fuel for a month or more, reports the Salt Lake Tribune. The Colorado-based chain operates 78 Circle K convenience stores and ConocoPhillips or Phillips 66-branded gas stations across four states.

The dispute with Phillips 66 halted fuel supplies and prompted three of PFC Saleco's creditors to petition the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Colorado on Aug. 31 to place the company in involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which would force it to reorganize its debt. Distributor Core-Mark International Inc. claimed in its filings that it is owed approximately $1.64 million, according to a Kansas City Star report.

However, Phillips 66 is “working with the marketer and the owner to resolve the issue as quickly as possible," according to spokeswoman Alissa Hicks, who also noted that the company is not at liberty to comment on the financial status of its customers.

Late last week, a bankruptcy judge granted PCF Saleco a 14-day extension to respond to the petition. "If they can reach an agreement with Phillips 66, then we may not have to move forward in bankruptcy court," stated Caroline Fuller, a Denver attorney who represents three unsecured creditors.

In court documents, PCF Saleco stated that it “believes that if a favorable agreement with Phillips 66 can soon be reached, this will allow (PCF) to resolve the debt claims being asserted by the petitioning creditors and other trade creditors such that an involuntary bankruptcy proceeding would be unnecessary.”

In the meantime, several of the chain's Kansas and Utah locations remain temporarily closed whole a solution is reached.