Lien filed against energy company

Work on a crude oil distillation and storage tank facility near Reliance has stopped after the company behind the project allegedly failed to pay a Utah-based firm working at the site.

BH Inc., of Vernal, Utah, initially filed a lien against Rock Springs Energy Group, LLC., April 26, claiming the RSEG failed to pay for work conducted by the company. According to documents filed with the Sweetwater County Clerk’s Office, RSEG paid $39,186.19 of an initial charge of $94,083.49 billed Dec. 31, 2016. Further bills invoiced between Jan. 10 and April 18 were listed as unpaid and totaled $3,955,056.95, excluding finance charges totaling $123,131.15. A lis pendens notice was filed at the Sweetwater County Courthouse May 15 by BH Inc., seeking to foreclose its lien.

In court filings, RSEG denies the lien is valid under Wyoming law and believes BH submitted bills for costs “not properly incurred.” RSEG also claims BH had originally breached its contract with the company and further alleges BH is responsible for RSEG’s attorney’s fees because the company failed to “comply with the applicable lien statutes and notice requirements.”

Plans for RSEG’s facility were on file in the county’s planning and zoning department in late 2015. The refinery is planned to be built on land originally owned by Schulmberger and Dow Chemical Company, near a mobile home park owned by Regency of Wyoming. Plans called for the refinery to process 5,000 barrels of crude oil produced regionally and refine it into paraffin wax, paint solvents and maritime diesel fuel. Plans identified the area’s close proximity to Interstate 80 as a transportation route to markets in Salt Lake City.

According to RSEG’s website, the commercial operations date was scheduled in summer 2016.

An email sent to Wayne Heftye, listed as the developer for the project on the RSEG website, was not replied to by press time.