Bankrupt Tulsa Execs Receive Over $3 Milllion in Bonuses

A pair of SemGroup LP executives are the only two administrators named to receive bonuses from both the bankrupt Tulsa company and its publicly held and struggling subsidiary, SemGroup Energy Partners LP, tulsaworld.com first reported Thursday.

Pete Schwiering and Jerry Parsons were named among 10 SemGroup LP leaders slated to receive up to $3.8 million in combined incentives if the Tulsa-based company meets or exceeds certain criteria, according to bankruptcy court records in Delaware. The incentives are designed to keep employees on board while SemGroup LP sells off assets or emerges from Chapter 11 protection.

Schwiering and Parsons both could gain up to $468,750 in additional pay under the SemGroup LP incentive plan. Schwiering heads up SemCrude oil operations, while Parsons leads the company's SemMaterials asphalt unit.

Last month, SemGroup Energy Partners' compensation committee approved bonus pay for five executives, including CEO Kevin Foxx, Schwiering and Parsons, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Parsons' bonus pay for his SGLP asphalt work totaled $215,000, while Schwiering received an additional $120,000 for leading the public company's crude oil operations, according to reports.

The parent SemGroup filed for bankruptcy protection July 22 after admitting its traders lost $2.4 billion in failed oil futures transactions. The company also owes $2.5 billion to banks and other lenders and up to $1 billion to oil and gas producers who sold their product on credit, according to reports.

Hedge funds Manchester Securities and Alerian Capital Management gained SGLP board control when the parent company defaulted on a $150 million loan, and the public firm tried to find other, third-party customers for its storage and pipeline services.

SemGroup Energy Partners is not a debtor in the bankruptcy case, but it suffers from its own credit default and cash-flow challenges, records show. Schwiering has worked for SemGroup since 2000, the year that it was founded. Parsons joined SemGroup in 2006. Neither SemGroup LP or SGLP spokesmen could be reached for comment.