Murphy Energy: Court approves appointment of Jason Searcy as trustee

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Feb. 9 – Murphy Energy Corp. will be managed and evaluated by Chapter 11 trustee Jason Searcy, according to an order filed Wednesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Searcy was nominated to the post by the U.S. Trustee after the court granted approval of the company’s request for appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee.

As previously reported, Murphy said its asset sales leave two options in its bankruptcy cases, including continuing in Chapter 11 and working toward an orderly liquidation of the estates’ remaining causes of action through a Chapter 11 plan or converting the case to allow a Chapter 7 trustee to administer those actions.

However, because the Murphy Energy debtors will not have the access to cash or other funding after Jan. 31, the Chapter 11 plan option “may not be feasible other than through the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee,” the motion said.

The company said its unsecured creditors could receive some benefits through the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee, rather than conversion of the cases.

In addition, Murphy said conversion could increase administrative costs and delay distributions to creditors.

Murphy Energy is a Tulsa, Okla.-based privately owned integrated midstream provider of transportation, storage and marketing services for crude oil, natural gas liquids and condensates. The company filed bankruptcy on Oct. 5 under Chapter 11 case number 16-33971.

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