Opponents of Philadelphia Energy Solutions’ bankruptcy plan have vowed a long legal fight if a federal court this week approves a sale that would keep the largest East Coast oil refinery permanently shut while paying out bonuses to company executives, Reuters reported. A June fire at the 335,000 barrel-per-day PES refinery led the company to file for bankruptcy and shut the plant over the summer, laying off more than 1,000 workers and ending long-standing ties with dozens of businesses. The refinery endured years of financial trouble, hurt by poor access to U.S. crude oil production and heavy costs of complying with federal laws on blending biofuels with gasoline. The PES plan to exit bankruptcy includes a $240 million sale of the refinery to a real estate developer, Hilco Redevelopment Partners. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware is scheduled to consider the plan today. Former contractors and worker unions, who are among the long list of unsecured creditors in the case, want the refinery to reopen. Even if the court approves the deal, they are asking the decision to be put on hold pending an appeal, court filings show.
