When asked if Crescent Oil is operating as usual and still providing fuel to area gas stations, Viets said only, "Yes." Crescent Oil declined to comment to CSP Daily News about the situation.
Crescent Oil came under the ownership of Titan Global Holdings as of January 15, following the closing of a buyout. Richardson, Texas-based Titan is also the parent company of Blountville, Tenn.-based Appalachian Oil (Appco), which has also been struggling with cash flow in recent months. (Click here for previous CSP Daily News coverage. Also click here.)
Mike Horton, owner of Horton's Pizza Plus in Pittsburg and Arma, said he was told Wednesday afternoon that Crescent Oil had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and would no longer be providing fuel to the stations. "I was waiting for a load of fuel and the dispatcher called me and told me I wasn't going to be able to get any," he told the paper.
Horton said his stations still have "fuel in the ground," and said he is working to find a different provider.
For the next day or two, Horton's Pizza Plus will not accept credit or debit cards because Crescent Oil receives a cut of the transaction fees. Horton said he was told by a Crescent Oil official to stop accepting credit or debit card payments.
"I hope to have some credit card availability sometime [Thursday or Friday]," Horton told the Morning Sun "We stopped taking cards at about 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. I don't know how many sales I've lost since yesterday afternoon, because we all know the world now lives off credit and debit cards."
Horton said area residents should not panic, as it's unlikely there will be a fuel shortage in southeast Kansas. He said the stations that were provided fuel from Crescent Oil are probably "scrambling" to find different providers. "I think this will all be worked out, but it will require some effort from those stations to find a viable vendor to get fuel from," he said.
Crescent Oil also has been the fuel provider for Frontenacr's in Frontenac. Owner Kris Belew told the paper that station also has stopped accepting credit cards until "we get everything figured out."
"I don't really know a whole lot a this point," he said. "There are a lot of rumors going around and we're just trying to get a handle on what is going on."
Belew said the station is currently out of premium gasoline and only had regular unleaded as of Thursday morning. He said he expected the next fuel shipment to arrive in the next couple of days.
An employee at Pittsburg Truck 'N Travel, located on the corner of highways 69 and 400, told the paper that the station no longer receives fuel from Crescent Oil and stopped accepting credit cards Wednesday morning. He added, "We just don't know a whole lot right now."Kay Clayton, owner of the Asbury Quick Mart in Asbury, Mo., told The Joplin Globe that she was informed Wednesday by a representative for Crescent Oil that they would no longer be supplying gasoline. She said she and several other stations are trying to make alternate arrangements to receive fuel.
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