Financial woes close area Phillips 66 gas stations
Posted at: 09/28/2012 8:26 PM
| Updated at: 09/29/2012 2:27 PM
By: Jill Galus, KOB Eyewitness News 4
Emails have been pouring into KOB Eyewitness News 4 asking why several Phillips 66 Circle K stations are not selling gasoline.
On a Friday night, you would expect there to be some traffic at the neighborhood Phillips 66 gas station. Instead, it is deserted and empty, the way it has looked for weeks without any clear answer why.
"I get into a place I want to get gas and they don't have gas, it's very frustrating," one motorist said.
It is a quick drive in and drive out for motorists at the Phillips 66 at Lomas and Tramway. The price of gas is still marked on pumps but yellow bags cover all the handles.
"I was going to go down to the one on the 66 down there at Lomas and Juan Tabo but I suspect I'd be wasting my time because it's going to be shut," the same frustrated motorist said.
Another driver said he had been stopping at the Lomas and Tramway location for years, but now he's having to find a new place to fill up.
"You get your coffee in the morning, you get your gas - it hurts," he said.
The attached Circle K convenience store is also proving anything but convenient. Customers must pay in cash only. Merchandise is limited and lotto tickets seem to be the only sure thing in stock.
"They must be losing a fortune," another motorist said.
A financial communications specialist at Phillips 66 sent KOB this statement: "We do not own the gas stations in the Albuquerque area. One of the operators who owns a number of stations in the area is having financial difficulties. Because of this, the owner has chosen to temporarily close some of its sites."
The owner is a company by the name of PCF Saleco, based out of Colorado. The company could not be reached for comment. But recent reports indicate the company is at the target of an involuntary bankruptcy petition.
"Either they'll back out completely or they'll just open right back up," another motorist said.
Meanwhile, customers are in limbo, having to go elsewhere.
"Very frustrating, I wish they'd make up their mind or settle it," another man said. Reports indicate PCF Saleco owes three different suppliers $1.65 million dollars.
The Phillips 66 financial communications specialist added in her statement they are working with PCF Saleco toward a solution, but did not have a specific timeline to reach that.
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