"Flying J, Oil Refiner, Transporter, Files for Bankruptcy

By Steven Church and Dawn McCarty
Dec. 22 (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.
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.
Affiliates Longhorn Partners Pipeline LP, Longhorn Pipeline Holdings and Longhorn Pipeline, Big West of California, Big West Oil, Big West Transportation, also sought protection.
The 30 largest consolidated creditors without collateral supporting their claims include Zion Bank, owed $85.8 million; CononcoPhillips, owed $69.4 million; Berry Petroleum Co., owed $26.1 million; Houston Refining LP, owed $19.1 million; and BP Oil Co., owed $17.5 million.
The case is In re Longhorn Partners Pipeline LP, 08-13384, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).
To contact the reporter on this story: Steven Church in Wilmington, Delaware, at schurch3@bloomberg.net; Dawn McCarty in Wilmington, Delaware, at dmccarty@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: December 22, 2008 13:15 EST"