A Chinese bank asked a federal judge to deny Philadelphia Energy Solutions’ initial bankruptcy requests, arguing that it should get priority over any insurance payouts after a June fire destroyed a section of the PES refinery, Reuters reported. ICBC Standard Bank PLC, which signed an agreement to buy PES’s crude and refined products just three days before the June 21 explosion and blaze, said PES owes it more than $300 million in early termination fees and other costs. The fire tore through an alkylation unit at the Girard Point section of the refinery, the largest on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, scattering debris across nearby highways. At the time of the fire, the Chinese state-owned bank said it had $1.6 billion worth of crude and products stored at the 335,000 barrel-per-day Philadelphia plant, and the bank has not been able to get access to all of it. PES attempted to tap into $1.25 billion in property damage and loss of business insurance coverage, but its request was denied, the company said in court filings. By the time PES filed for bankruptcy, the company had only $45 million of cash in deposit accounts, which was ICBC collateral. The funds were not enough to pay for the extraction of inventory or wind down the facility. ICBC has asked the judge to reject the financing agreement, arguing that it would give the lenders an advantage over the company’s assets.
