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CALGARY — Three Canadian oil companies listed as among the biggest creditors of bankrupt energy trader SemGroup LP said Tuesday the U.S. company's filing will have little impact on their operations.
SemGroup declared bankruptcy on Tuesday after $3.2-billion (U.S.) in oil trading losses torpedoed the formerly 12th-largest private U.S. company.
Its Canadian unit has also filed for creditor protection.
The Tulsa-based firm racked up the massive losses as oil prices ran up record gains, undercutting short crude futures positions SemGroup bought to hedge against its 500,000 barrel-per-day trading business.
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Husky Energy Inc. and ARC Energy Trust are listed as among the top creditors of SemGroup, owed $50.1-million and $26.2-million, respectively, while Nexen Inc. is listed as being owed $22.3-million.
“We're not fussed at all,” said Michael Harris, a spokesman for Nexen. He said the trading debt owed to Nexen may actually be a wash because of money that the oil producer also owes the trader.
“So we may be in a good position, to be having to pay them rather than having them pay us,” Mr. Harris said.
Husky, Canada's No. 3 oil exploration and refining firm, said it is also unlikely to face much in the way of financial losses because of SemGroup's bankruptcy filing
“Because of some other possible set-offs (the total) will amount to significantly less ... based on the gross value of some other swaps we entered,” said Graham White, a spokesman for Husky. “The amount for us will be closer to zero. So it's not a significant liability for us.”
Mr. White did not say how much crude SemGroup moved for the company, which used the trader to supply oil to its refinery in Lima, Ohio.
ARC Energy, one of Canada's biggest oil and gas income funds, is owed $26.2-million on oil sales contracts, ARC vice-president David Carey said.
SemGroup's Canadian unit had contracted for about 15 per cent of ARC's oil production, which represented about 10 per cent of the trust's revenue, Mr. Carey said.
“Until the parent filed for Chapter 11, we were still being told to expect payment this Friday for the June production month,” he said.
He stressed that the amount owing is not large in relation to ARC's overall revenues.
“We got named because of the dollar exposure, but there will be companies in this town that have a much bigger exposure as a percentage of their revenues,” Mr. Carey said.
One other Canadian firm was also listed as among SemGroup's top 30 unsecured creditors. Crescent Point Energy Trust is owed $42.5-million but did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Calls to SemGroup's Canadian unit were also not immediately returned.
