Fuel Group Trading files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Legal claims and investor lawsuits are among the issues facing certain oil industry companies that have filed for bankruptcy protection.
Petroleum products dealer Fuel Group Trading LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to reorganize its business, facing legal claims, according to its petition.
All legal actions are subject to an automatic stay while the bankruptcy case proceeds.
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Fuel Group Trading files for bankruptcy
The Round Rock, Texas-based debtor filed its Subchapter V petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas in Waco on July 8, listing $751,000 in assets and $105,000 in debts.
Other estimated assets listed on the petition include possible $12 million in net operating losses, $10 million in misrepresentations made by third parties involved with certain prospective but unsuccessful oil trading transactions, and a $3.3 million claim against a shipping provider.
Fuel Group Trading did not indicate a specific reason for filing for bankruptcy in its petition, and a spokesperson contacted at the phone number on a company website declined to comment.
The debtor listed one unsecured creditor on its petition, McConnel Valdez LLC, a law firm representing Fuel Group and its CEO Dennis Kruse, which is owed $105,000 on an unliquidated legal claim.
Debtor faces an investor lawsuit
The petition also listed a pending investor lawsuit, Steve Slade v. Fuel Group Trading LLC, filed in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Court of First Instance Superior Court of Bayamon.
Fuel Group Trading is listed in the petition as the owner of affiliate Fuel Group LLC's website, fuelgroup.net. Fuel Group was established in 2012 in Puerto Rico as a logistics and marketing company that distributes crude oil, gasoline, jet fuel, distillates, residual oil, and renewable fuels to wholesalers, retailers, and commercial customers worldwide, according to the website.
The lease for Fuel Group's address in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, was also listed in the petition.
Among the challenges that oil and fuel companies have faced this year are volatile oil prices that are influenced by the Iran war. After the first U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Feb. 28, 2026, Brent crude futures rose 7%-9% to $78 to $80 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate increased 6% to 8% to $70 to $73 on March 2, 2026, according to the Institute for Energy Research.
Prices continued rising to about $114 for Brent and as high as $110 for West Texas Intermediate on May 4, 2026, before declining again with Brent decreasing to $70.90 and West Texas reaching $67.86 by June 26, according to oilpriceapi.com.
West Texas Intermediate began rising again to $79.33, and Brent was $84.15 on July 13, according to oilprice.com.
Wars affect oil prices
Volatile oil prices were a major problem for oil field services company Nine Energy Services, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Feb. 1, weeks before the Iran War began.
Nine Energy Services, however, felt the effects from rising prices caused by another international conflict, the Ukraine-Russia war.
"Oil prices reached a 13-year high in March 2022, primarily as a result of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine igniting fears of shortages," according to a declaration from Guy Sirkes, Nine Energy Services' executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Energy prices have remained volatile since the Ukraine-Russia war began.
"The company's profitability, like many oil and gas businesses, depends in large part on the resource development activities and corresponding capital spending on oil and gas companies," Sirkes said. "When energy prices shift abruptly, it creates a challenging market environment for the company and similarly situated businesses."
Nine Energy Services filed a prepackaged bankruptcy with a restructuring support agreement to deleverage the company and fix its balance sheet. The RSA also calls for Nine Energy's prepetition lenders to to provide the company adequate liquidity with debtor-in-possession financing and exit financing.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court confirmed Nine Energy Services' plan on March 4, 2026.
Volatile oil prices:
- Brent crude, $78 to $80 per barrel, 7%-9% increase, March 2, 2026. Source: Institute for Energy Research.
- West Texas Intermediate $70 to $73, 6% to 8% increase, March 2, 2026. Source: Institute for Energy Research.
- Brent crude, $114, on May 4, 2026. Source: Investing.com.
- West Texas Intermediate, $110, on May 4, 2026. Investing.com.
- Brent crude, $70.90, June 26, 2026.Source: oilpriceapi.com.
- West Texas Intermediate, $67.86, June 26.Source: oilpriceapi.com.
- Brent crude, $84.15 on July 13.Source: oilprice.com
- West Texas Intermediate, $79.33, July 13. Source: oilprice.com.
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This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 8:33 AM.