Management is undertaking, or has undertaken, several initiatives to mitigate the conditions or events that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. For example, as noted above, we have recently amended our fixed payment obligation with the counterparty to defer the repayment of our fixed payment obligation until the refinery’s operations commence. In order to address our short-term liquidity gap, we intend to attempt to negotiate deferred payment terms on some of our scheduled obligations and may seek to obtain deferred payment terms on some of the asset purchases and construction costs we still intend to make. Management is also exploring transactions to maximize available capital, which may include raising additional debt or equity funding, revising our short-term operating plans, reducing anticipated investments in Camelina production and in infrastructure improvements, and otherwise reducing operating expenses. Management believes cash flows from these plans will be needed until the start-up of the Bakersfield Renewable Fuels Refinery at which point the Company expects to begin generating positive cash flows. Management believes it is probable that those plans can be effectively implemented and along with the operating cash flows from the refinery, when started, are sufficient to mitigate the circumstances resulting in substantial doubt for a period not less than one year from the date the financial statements are issued. 

 

 

BKRF OCB, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of GCEH, is a party to a $337.6 million secured term loan facility (the “Senior Credit Facility”), and BKRF HCB, LLC, also a wholly-owned subsidiary of GCEH, is party to a $67.4 million secured term loan facility (the “Mezzanine Credit Facility”) from GCEH (see Note F). The purpose of these facilities is the construction of the refinery.

 

On February 23, 2022, we issued 145,000 shares of our newly created Series C Preferred Stock (the “Series C Preferred”) and five-year warrants (the “GCEH Warrants”) to purchase up to an aggregate of 18,547,731 shares of our Common Stock (5,017,008 issued to settle the Warrant Commitment Liability) at an exercise price of $2.25 per share to ExxonMobil Renewables LLC (“ExxonMobil Renewables”), an affiliate of ExxonMobil Oil Corporation (“ExxonMobil”), and 11 other institutional investors (all of whom are Senior Lenders under our existing Senior Credit Facility) for an aggregate purchase price of $145 million and the settlement of the Warrant Commitment Liability. As additional consideration for ExxonMobil’s investment, we also granted ExxonMobil Renewables additional warrants (the “GCEH Tranche II Warrants”) to purchase up to 6.5 million shares of common stock at an exercise price per share of $3.75 until February 22, 2028, and a warrant to acquire 33% (19,701,493 shares) of our SusOils subsidiary for $33 million ($1.675 per share) until February 22, 2027 (“SusOil Warrants”). Each of the GCEH Warrants, GCEH Tranche II Warrants and SusOil Warrants may be exercised for cash or by means of cashless exercise, however the GCEH Tranche II Warrants cannot be exercised until the earlier of (i) the date on which ExxonMobil extends the term of the five-year Offtake Agreement (as described below) that we entered into with ExxonMobil effective April 10, 2019 (as amended), or (ii) a change of control, sale, or the dissolution of the Company. Under the Certificate of Designations of the Series C Preferred, the holders of the Series C Preferred are entitled to receive dividends at a rate of 15%, compounded quarterly provided that, until March 31, 2024, we may elect not to pay some or all of the accrued dividends in cash, in which case the unpaid dividends shall accrue and be added to the original issuance price of the shares of Series C Preferred. The shares of Series C Preferred have no voting rights, except as required by law or with respect to certain protective provisions in the Certificate of Designations. For such time as ExxonMobil holds any shares of Series C Preferred, ExxonMobil will have the right, exercisable at its option, to appoint two directors to GCEH’s Board of Directors. If the Series C Preferred shares have not been redeemed prior to the fifth anniversary of issuance, or upon an event of default under the Certificate of Designations, ExxonMobil will have the right to appoint a majority of the Board of Directors. The Certificate of Designations provides that we will have the right, at any time, to redeem/repurchase the outstanding shares of Series C Preferred (in increments of no less than $25 million), for an amount equal to the Corporate Redemption Price (as defined in the Certificate of Designations) at any time the Series C Preferred is outstanding. The Certificate of Designations of the Series C Preferred Stock provides for mandatory redemption upon a Change of Control or Event of Default (as defined therein) and are not convertible into shares of our common stock. GCEH may redeem the Series C Preferred Stock at any time within the first two years at 1.85 times, and the next three years at 2.0 times, the amount of the investment (including any accrued unpaid dividends).

 

In April

2019, the Company entered into a binding Product Offtake Agreement (the “Offtake Agreement”) with ExxonMobil pursuant to which ExxonMobil has committed to purchase 2.5 million barrels per year of renewable diesel annually (the “Committed Volume”) from the Bakersfield Renewable Fuels Refinery (including the Renewable Identification Numbers (“RINs”) allocated to such quantities of renewable diesel), and the Company has committed to sell these quantities of renewable diesel to ExxonMobil. ExxonMobil’s obligation to purchase renewable diesel will last for a period of five years following the date that the Bakersfield Renewable Fuels Refinery commences commercial operations (“Start Date”). ExxonMobil has the option to extend the initial five-year term. Either party may terminate the Offtake Agreement if the Bakersfield Renewable Fuels Refinery does not meet certain production levels by certain milestone dates following the commencement of the Bakersfield Renewable Fuels Refinery’s operations or the Start Date has not occurred by October 15, 2022 for reasons other than force majeure.

 

In April 2021, BKRF entered into a Term Purchase Agreement (“TPA”) with ExxonMobil under which ExxonMobil has the right to purchase additional quantities of renewable diesel from our Bakersfield Renewable Fuels Refinery, and the Company is obligated to sell such additional amounts of renewable diesel to ExxonMobil. Under the Offtake Agreement, ExxonMobil committed to purchase the Committed Volume from the Bakersfield Renewable Fuels Refinery. However, the Bakersfield Renewable Fuels Refinery is designed to produce more than the Committed Volume. Under the TPA, following the Start Date, ExxonMobil has the exclusive right to purchase all renewable diesel produced in excess of the Committed Volume that we sell to ExxonMobil under the Offtake Agreement. The Company also agreed to transfer title to ExxonMobil of the RINs allocated to the quantities of renewable diesel purchased under the TPA. In the event that ExxonMobil does not purchase all of the renewable diesel that it can under the TPA and, as a result, our inventory levels exceed certain specified levels, the Company can sell that extra inventory to third parties. The TPA has a five-year term. ExxonMobil has the option to extend the initial five-year term for a second five-year term if it elects to extend the Offtake Agreement.

 

Under both agreements, we retain 100% of the co-products, which include renewable propane, renewable naphtha and renewable butane. In February 2022, our BKRF subsidiary entered into an agreement with AmeriGas Propane (“Amerigas”), a subsidiary of UGI Corporation, whereby Amerigas will purchase the renewable propane produced at the Bakersfield Renewable Fuels Refinery up to a certain maximum volume amount, with an option then to acquire any volume in excess of such amount. The first twelve months of renewable propane to be delivered is estimated to be approximately 13 million gallons. The agreement has an initial term of three years, subject to an evergreen provision on an annual basis unless affirmatively terminated by either Party at the end of the initial 3-year term or any subsequent annual extension. The Company is pursuing sales contracts for renewable naphtha and renewable butane.