SEC Form 4

FORM 4		UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940	OMB APPROVAL OMB Number: 3235-0287 Estimated average burden hours per response: 0.5
	Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person* Cowart Benjamin P (Last) (First) (Middle) 1331 GEMINI STREET SUITE 250 (Street) HOUSTON TX 77058 (City) (State) (Zip)	2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol Vertex Energy Inc. [ VTNR ]	5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) X Director X 10% Owner X Officer (give title below) Other (specify below) CEO and President
	3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year) 03/21/2023
	4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)	6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line) X Form filed by One Reporting Person Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed Of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)			5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4)	6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
			Code	V	Amount	(A) or (D)	Price
Common Stock	03/21/2023		M		166,000	A	$1.26	428,854	D
Common Stock								5,583,941	I	Through B&S Cowart II Family LP
Common Stock								174,085	I	Through spouse
Common Stock								70,214	I	Through The Shelley T. Cowart 2016 Grantor Retained Annuity Trust
Common Stock								7,500	I	Through Vertex Holdings, LP
Common Stock								100,765	I	Through VTX Inc.

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)	2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)		6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		7. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 3 and 4)		8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)	9. Number of derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)	10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
				Code	V	(A)	(D)	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Option to Purchase Common Stock	$1.26	03/21/2023		M			166,000	(1)	04/12/2023	Common Stock	166,000	$0	0	D

Explanation of Responses:

1. A total of 1/4th of the Stock Options vested on each of April 12, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Remarks:

Mr. Cowart disclaims beneficial ownership of the securities reported herein except to the extent of his pecuniary interest therein.

	/s/ Benjamin P. Cowart	03/22/2023
	** Signature of Reporting Person	Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4 (b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
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