Oil Producers Asked To Wait By SemGroup

The SemGroup collapse is sending out big shockwaves.  And small, independent oil producers are on some of the shakiest ground.  The News On 6's Steve Berg reports there are dozens, if not hundreds, of small producers in Oklahoma that supplied oil to SemGroup.  And, many of them say they're not getting paid.

Jason Rougeot says he was as surprised as everyone else by the demise of SemGroup.  He also wasn't expecting not to get paid.

"As of last night at 5 o'clock when I checked the mail, I still hadn't had a check from Sem," said Jason Rougeot.

He says SemGroup owes him close to $200,000 for six weeks worth of oil.  And, he says small producers like him don't have big reserves of cash to wait it out.

"We're just a little father and son kind of deal, and I've got a couple of employees, and uh, you can dip into your savings for a little bit, but sooner or later, it's going to catch up to you," said Jason Rougeot.

And, it's not just one man's case of hard luck.  He says there are dozens of small producers in Osage County alone who haven't gotten their money from SemGroup.  They say SemGroup is offering to pay them, but there's a catch.  They say SemGroup wants them to agree to a six-month contract to keep providing oil first.

"Kind of keeping us on the hook of, if you will agree to this, well then, we'll pay you this that we owe you, is not something that's easy to swallow," said Jason Rougeot.  "Somebody takes your car and says, ‘I'm gonna sell this for you,' and they turn and sell it, and they got the money for it.  And then, they go, tell you what, ‘give me another car to sell and then I'll give you the money for the first car.'"

He says it would be nice to get his money, but he worries that he would go through the same thing three months from now.

"I understand where they're at.  But, at the same time, uh, I just can't take that risk," said Jason Rougeot.