A Delaware bankruptcy judge has approved about $1.1 million in severance packages for 230 SemGroup LP workers who were laid off a week ago.
The packages approved Monday by Judge Brendan L. Shannon average out to two weeks of pay, SemGroup spokesman Lance Ignon said.
The collapsed Tulsa energy company laid off the workers on August 11, but had to wait for the judge's approval on the severance payouts. More than 100 of those layoffs came at the Tulsa office, while the remaining 120 were nationwide.
SemGroup also is awaiting Shannon's approval on using the final $100 million of a $250 million loan to keep it in business while it plans a sell-off of assets.
The privately held company's sole publicly traded subsidiary, SemGroup Energy Partners, also is asking the judge to hear its request that the parent company guarantee payments.
SemGroup, an oil and asphalt transportation and storage provider, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 22 after apparently losing a reported $2.4 billion on the oil futures markets. It listed at least $2.5 billion owed to creditors.
The filing came as a shock to some who saw the firm as one of the city's best-run companies. It also was counted among Tulsa's civic leaders, sponsoring a local LPGA tournament.
On the heels of the filing, federal regulators and the U.S. Attorney's Office began an investigation into the company's rapid collapse.
Last week, a Delaware bankruptcy judge approved a $150 million debtor in possession loan financed by Bank of America and others to help keep the company afloat. The judge is expected to rule on the rest of the loan request — $100 million — later this month.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
