Ten months after an explosion destroyed its storage facilities in Puerto Rico Caribbean Petroleum has filed for bankruptcy protection.
On 23 October an explosion and fire destroyed much of the company's Bayamon storage facility.
Collectively, the effects of the explosions have caused the virtual shutdown of the debtors' operation, chief financial officer Nicolas Lopez Pena states.
It also left the company on the hook for significant environmental liabilities and clean-up costs.
The private oil and gas distributor plans to auction off its assets. The company is also facing numerous lawsuits for property damage and injuries. It estimates that plaintiffs in these suits are seeking more than $455 million (355.12 million).
Caribbean Petroleum is selling its assets including a network of Gulf-branded service stations, six pipelines and a deepwater dock in San Juan Harbor.
The company listed assets of less than $500 million and debts of somewhere between $500 million and $1 billion in its bankruptcy petition.
