Dive Brief:
- Fuel service company RGV Pumps & Equipment LLC has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Brownsville Division.
- The company filed its voluntary petition for relief on Dec. 12, court documents show. It continues to manage and operate its business as it awaits the court’s ruling to allow it to use debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing.
- RGV, based in San Benito, Texas, mainly services the Rio Grande Valley, which includes areas in the southernmost tip of Texas as well as parts of northern Mexico.
Dive Insight:
RGV has requested the court’s emergency consideration to receive cash collateral and pre-petition wages to continue financing its payroll, company supplies and other operating expenses. Court documents show that as of Dec. 12, RGV owes a total of $7,652.69 in pre-petition wages to its eight employees.
The bankruptcy court is set to hold a hearing on Dec. 15 to decide whether or not to authorize RGV’s request. If RGV is unable to use these funds, “it will be forced to cease operations,” according to court documents.
RGV has hired Robert C. Lane, managing partner with The Lane Law Firm, PLLC, to assist in its bankruptcy case. The company did not respond by press time to an inquiry for more details on its bankruptcy filing and broader plans moving forward.
Founded in 2008, RGV began as a single-service lubricant delivery company and has since evolved its business to several other areas, such as fueling services, waste oil removal and equipment servicing.
RGV offers Valero and Citgo-branded fuel in several forms, such as on- and off-highway diesel and unleaded, unleaded plus and unleaded super. The company also offers emergency fueling services, contractual fueling, generator fueling and fluid management systems. Its equipment services include pump repairs and installations, fluid management systems, tank refurbishing and installations, fuel and lubricant plumbing and more.
RGV isn’t the only company in the fuel industry to file for bankruptcy this year. In March, Alpharetta, Georgia-based Mountain Express Oil declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and eventually terminated operations after shifting to Chapter 7 in tumultuous fashion. In September, Eau Claire, Wisconsin-based Mega Consumers Cooperative, which operates 31 c-stores across Wisconsin, also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
