NOTE I – COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Employment Agreements

President and Chief Executive Officer. Effective December 31, 2014, the Company entered into an employment agreement (the “2014 Employment Agreement”) with its President and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), for a term of five years. Under the Employment Agreement, we granted the CEO an incentive option to purchase up to 16,959,377 shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $0.0041 (the closing trading price on the date the agreement was signed and approved), with 25% vesting immediately and the balance vesting in equal amounts over the next 48 months. Under the 2014 Employment Agreement, the CEO was entitled to receive a base salary of $250,000 and an annual bonus payment contingent on the CEO’s satisfaction of certain performance criteria. The target annual bonus amount was 50% of the CEO’s base salary, subject to the Board’s discretion to increase the amount of the bonus or adjust the performance criteria

On October 16, 2018, the Company and the CEO entered into a new Executive Employment Agreement (the “2018 Employment Agreement”) that replaced the 2014 Employment Agreement. The 2018 Employment Agreement runs through October 15, 2023 and compensates the CEO at an annual base salary of $300,000 per year. Upon the closing of the acquisition of the Company's Bakersfield, California, refinery on May 7, 2020 the Company and the CEO amended the 2018 Employment Agreement to increase the CEO’s annual base salary to $350,000, effective immediately. Under the 2018 Employment Agreement, the CEO’s target annual bonus amount is 50% of the CEO’s base salary, subject to the Board’s discretion to increase the amount of the bonus or adjust the performance criteria. Under the 2018 Employment Agreement, the Company granted the CEO a five-year non-qualified stock option (“Option”) to purchase 110 million shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $0.0154, subject to the Company’s achievement of certain market capitalization goals. Under the Option, Mr. Palmer vests, and can exercise the Option, with respect to 30,000,000 shares when the Company’s market capitalization first reaches $7 million, another 40,000,000 shares vest under the Option when the Company’s market capitalization reaches $15 million, and 40,000,000 shares vest when the Company’s market capitalization first reaches $25 million. The term “market capitalization” is defined in the 2018 Employment Agreement to mean the product of the number of shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding at the time market capitalization is calculated, multiplied by the average closing price of the Common Stock for the 30 consecutive trading days prior to the date of calculation as reported on the principal securities trading system on which the Common Stock is then listed for trading, including the OTC Pink marketplace, the NASDAQ Stock Market, or any other applicable stock exchange.

Executive Vice President - Development & Regulatory Affairs (the “EVP”). Effective January 15, 2019, the Company entered into a three-year employment agreement with its EVP which agreement was amended on May 7, 2020. Under the employment agreement, the EVP is paid an annual base salary of $310,000 and is entitled to receive an annual bonus of up to 50% of his annual base salary if the EVP meets certain performance targets.

Under the EVP’s employment agreement, the Company granted the EVP a five-year non-qualified stock option to purchase 50 million shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $0.02, subject to the Company’s achievement of certain market capitalization goals. The foregoing option vest in three tranches when the Company’s market capitalization reached $7 million, $15 million, and $25 million.

Leases

On May 1, 2019, the Company amended its office lease to extend the lease term to July 31, 2022.

Legal

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.

In the first quarter of 2018 we received $0.4 million as part of a settlement we entered into with the purchaser of our former Mexican biofuel farms. This settlement was in regards to the use of our intellectual property rights.

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. The Company is in the process of evaluating the merits of the claim and will determine a course of action in the near future. 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 consolidated balance sheets.