NOTE H – COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Employment Agreements

The Company maintains an employment agreement with its Chief Executive Officer, Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer that provide for the terms of their compensation, including bonuses and share-based compensation. See the Company’s December 31, 2020 Form 10-K for further details.

Engineering, Procurement and Construction Contract

On April 30, 2020, GCE Acquisitions entered into an Engineering, Procurement and Construction Agreement with a national engineering firm pursuant to which this firm agreed to provide services for the engineering, procurement, construction, start-up and testing of the Bakersfield Biorefinery. The agreement, which was assigned by GCE Acquisitions to BKRF OCB, LLC, the borrower under the senior credit facility, provides for this engineering firm to be paid on a cost-plus fee basis subject to a guaranteed maximum price of $201.4 million, subject to increase for approved change orders. As of May 17, 2021, the remaining balance of the contract was approximately $151 million.

Environmental Remediation Liabilities

The Company recognizes its asset retirement obligation and environmental remediation liabilities in accordance with ASC 410-30, and has estimated such liabilities as of its acquisition date. It is the Company’s policy to accrue environmental and clean-up related costs of a non-capital nature when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated. Environmental remediation liabilities represent the current estimated costs to investigate and remediate contamination at our properties. This estimate is based on internal and third-party assessments of the extent of the contamination, the selected remediation technology and review of applicable environmental regulations, typically considering estimated activities and costs for 20 years, and up to 30 years if a longer period is believed reasonably necessary. Accruals for estimated costs from environmental remediation obligations generally are recognized no later than completion of the remedial feasibility study and include, but are not limited to, costs to perform remedial actions and costs of machinery and equipment that are dedicated to the remedial actions and that do not have an alternative use. Such accruals are adjusted as further information develops or circumstances change. We discount environmental remediation liabilities to their present value if payments are fixed and determinable. However, as the timing and amount of these costs were undeterminable as of March 31, 2021, these costs have not been discounted. Expenditures for equipment necessary for environmental issues relating to ongoing operations are capitalized. Changes in laws and regulations and actual remediation expenses compared to historical experience could significantly impact our results of operations and financial position. We believe the estimates selected, in each instance, represent our best estimate of future outcomes, but the actual outcomes could differ from the estimates selected. At March 31, 2021, accrued environmental remediation liability costs totaled $21.2 million of which $1.1 million have been classified as current liabilities.

Legal

On May 7, 2020 through BKRF OCB, LLC, one of the Company’s indirect subsidiaries, the Company purchased all of the outstanding equity interests of Bakersfield Renewable Fuels, LLC from Alon Paramount Holdings, Inc. (“Alon Paramount”) for a total consideration of $89.4 million, including $40 million in cash and assumption of liabilities of $43.9 million. Bakersfield Renewable Fuels, LLC owns an oil refinery in Bakersfield, California that the Company is retooling into a biorefinery. In connection with the acquisition, BKRF OCB, LLC agreed to undertake certain cleanup activities at the refinery and provide a guarantee for liabilities arising from the cleanup. The Company has assumed significant environmental and clean-up liabilities associated with the purchase of the Bakersfield Refinery.

Bakersfield Renewable Fuels, LLC, formerly Alon Bakersfield Property, Inc., is one of the parties to an action pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In June 2019, the jury awarded the plaintiffs approximately $6.7 million against Alon Bakersfield Property, Inc. and Paramount Petroleum Corporation (a parent company of Alon Bakersfield Property, Inc. at the time of the award in 2019). Under the agreements pursuant to which we purchased Bakersfield Renewable Fuels, LLC (Alon Bakersfield Property, Inc.) Alon Paramount agreed to assume and be liable for (and to indemnify, defend, and save Bakersfield Renewable Fuels harmless from) this litigation. In addition, Paramount Petroleum has posted a bond to cover this judgment amount. All legal fees in this matter are being paid by Alon Paramount. As Paramount Petroleum Corporation and the Company are jointly and severally liable for the judgement, and Paramount Petroleum Corporation has agreed to absorb all of the liability and has posted a bond to cover the judgement amount, no loss has been accrued by the Company with respect to this matter.

In August 2020, a complaint was filed against GCE Holdings Acquisitions, LLC for a claimed breach of a certain consulting agreement. The claim is for $1.2 million. On October 14, 2020, GCE Holdings Acquisitions, LLC filed an answer and denied all allegations in the complaint. The Company does not believe that the ultimate resolution of this matter will have a material effect on its financial statements, and no loss has been accrued regarding this claim.

In the ordinary course of business, the Company may face various claims brought by third parties and the Company may, from time to time, make claims or take legal actions to assert the Company’s rights, including intellectual property rights, contractual disputes and other commercial disputes. Any of these claims could subject the Company to litigation. Management believes the outcomes of currently pending claims will not likely have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position and results of operations.

Indemnities and Guarantees

In addition to the indemnification provisions contained in the Company’s organization documents, the Company generally enters into separate indemnification agreements with the Company’s directors and officers. These agreements require the Company, among other things, to indemnify the director or officer against specified expenses and liabilities, such as attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and settlements, paid by the individual in connection with any action, suit or proceeding arising out of the individual’s status or service as the Company’s directors or officers, other than liabilities arising from willful misconduct or conduct that is knowingly fraudulent or deliberately dishonest, and to advance expenses incurred by the individual in connection with any proceeding against the individual with respect to which the individual may be entitled to indemnification by the Company. The Company also indemnifies its lessor in connection with its facility lease for certain claims arising from the use of the facility. These guarantees and indemnities do not provide for any limitation of the maximum potential future payments the Company could be obligated to make. Historically, the Company has not been obligated nor incurred any payments for these obligations and, therefore, no liabilities have been recorded for these indemnities and guarantees in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets.

COVID-19

In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus diseases (“COVID-19”) was first reported in Wuhan, China. Less than four months later, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. The extent of COVID-19’s effect on the Company’s operational and financial performance is ongoing but the Company believes that the pandemic to date has not materially impacted the Company’s operations and that the pandemic is not expected to be materially disruptive to its future plans and targeted date of beginning commercial operations. The Company has implemented strict protocols on its on-site workforce and continues to monitor the potential impacts to its business. The Company expects that the future impacts due to COVID-19 are not likely to be disruptive to its ongoing business.