Specialty refiner Vertex Energy has exited from chapter 11 bankruptcy as a private company owned by some of its lenders.
Vertex will operate as a privately-held company owned by lenders including funds managed by BlackRock Financial Management, Highbridge Capital Management, Whitebox Advisors, and CrowdOut Capital. Vertex said today that it exited bankruptcy with a commitment of up to $100mn in financing and a strengthened balance sheet following the deleveraging of $320mn of prepetition debt.
Vertex filed for bankruptcy in September 2024 after pausing renewable fuels production at its 88,000 b/d Mobile, Alabama, refinery earlier that year.
Refiners have faced mixed fortunes in recent years with their investments in renewable fuels after a glut of new supply flooded markets and depressed renewable credit prices.
The company "plans to pursue growth, stability and long-term value," Vertex said.
The company also announced the appointment of industry veteran Mark Smith as its chief executive. Smith was previously chief executive at Philadelphia Energy Solutions and president of Western Refining. Vertex also named a new board of directors.
Vertex, which purchased the Mobile refinery from Shell in 2022, produced its first barrels of renewable diesel in May 2023 following a hydrocracker conversion. It has since returned the hydrocracker to processing crude feedstocks.
Vertex also operates a refinery near New Orleans, Louisiana, that produces low-sulfur vacuum gas oil (VGO) and multiple used motor oil (UMO) processing plants and collection facilities along the Gulf coast.
