SemGroup
Encyclopedia
| SemGroup | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Statistics | ||
| 2007 Revenues | $14.2b | |
| Employees | 2,272 | |
SemGroup is a company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
that is involved in the transport of oil and natural gas from refineries to end users as well as the manufacture and sale of asphalt. As of 2007, it was the 18th largest private company in the US, but filed for bankruptcy in 2008. As of December 2009, the company had restructured and emerged from bankruptcy at a reduced size.
History
SemGroup LP was founded in February 2001. On July 9, 2007 SemGroup announced that it would establish a publicly traded affiliate, SemGroup Energy Partners LP, who would be traded on NASDAQNASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
, under the symbol SGLP.
(This affiliate was delisted from NASDAQ effective February 20, 2009.)
In July 2008, SemGroup ran into liquidity problems and warned it may have to file for bankruptcy as part of a financial restructuring. Adding to SemGroup's troubles, hedge funds run by Alerian Capital Management and Elliot Associates exercised the terms of a secured loan made to SemGroup and took over the general partnership interest in SemGroup Energy Partners LP. On July 22, 2008 Semgroup, LP filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. The company listed both debts and assets of more than US$1 billion.
New York billionaire John Catsimatidis
John Catsimatidis
John Catsimatidis b. 1948, is the owner, president, chairman, and CEO of the Red Apple Group and Gristedes Foods. He is also the chairman and CEO of the Red Apple Group subsidiary United Refining Company....
then became engaged in efforts to take over SemGroup, and he gained control over a majority of the company's management committee. He was met by opposition from the company's existing management, who argued for selling off at least some of the company's assets, while Catsimatidis stated his intention to keep the company together. On February 11, 2009 Catsimatidis was sued by a group of SemGroup executives, seeking removal of Catsimatidis and his allies from the committee. In turn, the company and its unsecured creditors committee sued former CEO Tom Kivisto and former CFO Gregory C. Wallace seeking return of $362 million (U.S) that they claim the defendants used for their own transactions and benefit.
In April, 2009, former FBI director Louis Freeh
Louis Freeh
Louis Joseph Freeh was the 5th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, serving from September 1993 to June 2001....
released a report on the circumstances surrounding the SemGroup bankruptcy.
In July Catsimatidis and the company reached a settlement, pursuant to which Catsimatidis acquired a piece of SemGroup's asphalt business and dropped his competing plan for the company's proposed reorganization.
On December 1, 2009, SemGroup exited bankruptcy under a new corporate structure, eliminating its master limited partnership and becoming a publicly traded company focused on asphalt manufacture and marketing and on oil and natural gas storage and transport, with about 140 employees in Tulsa and 1,000 overall. On the same day, the former SemGroup Energy Partners LP adopted a new name, Blueknight Energy Partners LP; Blueknight is now separate in ownership and assets (although sharing a pipeline system with SemGroup).
SemGroup Corporation's common stock (under the symbol SEMG) was listed on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
as of November 11, 2010, and two of its representatives were invited to ring the NYSE opening bell on December 17, 2010, as the company assumed what a Wall Street Journal reporter described as "a new identity as a conservative middleman to the Midwestern oil and gas industry."
Meanwhile, global oil trader Vitol Group
Vitol
The Vitol group is an energy trading company founded in Rotterdam in 1966. Vitol operates worldwide and, along with Glencore and Trafigura, is one of the world's top three crude oil traders. Vitol's headquarters are located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and Geneva, Switzerland...
took control of Blueknight (the former SemGroup Energy Partners LP). In October 2010, Vitol made a deal to add Charlesbank Capital Partners
Charlesbank Capital Partners
Charlesbank Capital Partners is a private equity investment firm focusing on leveraged buyout transactions involving middle-market companies.The founders of Charlesbank came together in 1991 as Harvard Private Capital Group to manage the private equity investment portfolio for Harvard Management...
as a second general partner
General partner
General partner is a legal term used to describe a person who joins with at least one other person to form a business. A general partner has responsibility for the actions of the business, can legally bind the business and is personally liable for all the business's debts and obligations.General...
; this led to public charges, by an investment fund associated with billionaire Michael Dell
Michael Dell
Michael Saul Dell is an American business magnate and the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Dell Inc. He is the 44th richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$14.6 billion in 2011, based primarily on the 243.35 million shares of Dell stock worth $3.5 billion that he owns,...
, that the transaction was improper self-dealing
Self-dealing
Self-dealing is the conduct of a trustee, an attorney, a corporate officer, or other fiduciary that consists of taking advantage of his position in a transaction and acting for his own interests rather than for the interests of the beneficiaries of the trust, corporate shareholders, or his clients...
intended to take money from Blueknight's existing limited partners. Vitol denied these charges.
In August 2011, SemGroup filed with the SEC to spinoff Rose Rock Midsteam in an $180 million initial public offering.
Activities
SemGroup LP is engaged in diversified services for the North American crude oil and refined products industry. Operations include gathering, transporting, marketing and hedging services. SemGroup owns and operates carrier pipelinesPipeline transport
Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
, oil transport and service trucks, pipeline injection stations and terminal storage in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Canadian operations are located in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, and Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
. The company is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, USA.
SemMaterials
SemMaterials is the division of SemGroup primarily responsible for asphalt and emulsion production. The division head head is Frank Panzer.Leadership team
Thomas L. KivistoThomas L. Kivisto
Tom Kivisto co-founded SemGroup, L.P. in April 2000 and served as the company’s president and chief executive officer until July 18, 2008. Under his leadership, SemGroup completed more than 40 acquisitions and its total assets grew from $227.4 million in 2000 to more than $3.6 billion at year-end...
co-founded SemGroup and served as its President and Chief Executive Officer. (Another co-founder was Gregory C. Wallace, who served as Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary.) In 2008 Terry Ronan replaced Kivisto as President and CEO. In September 2009 SemGroup announced a new leadership team, to be led by a new president and CEO, Norm Szydlowski, an experienced oil industry executive who had previously served as president and CEO of Colonial Pipeline
Colonial Pipeline
Colonial Pipeline, headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, delivers a daily average of of gasoline, home heating oil, aviation fuel and other refined petroleum products to communities and businesses throughout the South and Eastern United States. Colonial consists of more than of pipeline,...
Co. A new board was also announced, to be chaired by John F. Chlebowski, a director of NRG Energy, Inc. and previously president/CEO of GATX Terminals.