ORGANIZATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies) |
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| Accounting Policies [Abstract] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Description of Business |
Description of Business
Global Clean Energy Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is a U.S.-based integrated agricultural-energy biofuels company that holds assets across feedstocks and plant genetics, agronomics, cultivation, and regulatory approvals, commercialization, and downstream biorefining and storage. The Company is focused on the development and refining of nonfood-based bio-feedstocks and has a proprietary investment in camelina sativa (“Camelina”), a fast growing, low input and ultra-low carbon intensity crop used as a feedstock for renewable fuels. The Company holds its Camelina assets (including all related intellectual property related rights and approvals) and operates its Camelina business through its subsidiary, Sustainable Oils Inc., a Delaware corporation.
In 2018 and 2019 the Company pursued the acquisition of a crude oil refinery in Bakersfield, California with the objective of retrofitting it to produce renewable diesel from Camelina and other nonfood feedstocks. On May 7, 2020 the Company completed the acquisition of the targeted refinery (the “Bakersfield Biorefinery”). The Bakersfield Biorefinery is owned by Bakersfield Renewable Fuel, LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Global Clean Energy Holdings, Inc. The retrofitting of the refinery commenced promptly after the acquisition. The engineering and construction of the project is expected to be completed in early 2022 based on our engineering, procurement and construction contract with a substantial completion date of January 22, 2022. We feel confident that we will achieve that date or soon thereafter within the first quarter of 2022. It is a construction project and with all construction projects there are always risks. The contractor has daily liquidated penalties if they are late. After necessary start-up procedures and testing is complete, we expect production to be approximately 10,000 barrels per day (420,000 gallons per day). We expect to maintain that level at least through the first year of production. The Company has entered into a product offtake agreement with a major oil company for the purchase by the oil company of the majority of the renewable diesel to be produced at the Bakersfield Biorefinery. See Note B - Basis of Presentation and Liquidity which describes the offtake agreement in more detail. |
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| Basis of Presentation |
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Global Clean Energy Holdings, Inc., and its subsidiaries, and have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). References to the “ASC” hereafter refer to the Accounting Standards Codification established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) as the source of authoritative US GAAP. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. In the opinion of the Company’s management, all material adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been made to the consolidated financial statements. |
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| Per Share Information |
Per Share Information
On March 26, 2021, the Company effected a one-for-ten reverse stock split. All common stock and per share information (other than par value) contained in these financial statements and footnotes have been adjusted to reflect the foregoing reverse stock split. Prior to the reverse stock split the Company had 358,499,606 shares outstanding and immediately after the stock split the Company had 35,850,089 shares outstanding. The Company issued additional shares after the reverse stock split and the outstanding shares as of March 30, 2021 was 37,436,875. |
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| Restricted Cash |
Restricted Cash
In accordance with the Company’s senior credit agreement (see Note E - Debt), the Company is required to advance the calculated interest expense on its borrowings at the time of such borrowings to the estimated commercial operational date of the Bakersfield Biorefinery. This interest is deposited into a designated account and the appropriate amount is paid to the lender at the end of each quarter. Additionally, the construction funds are deposited into its own designated account and deposited from that designated account into the Bakersfield Renewable Fuel, LLC account only upon approval by the lender to pay for specific construction, facility and related costs . These two accounts are restricted and not directly accessible by the Company for general use, although these funds are assets of the Company. The Company estimates how much of this cash is likely to be capitalized into the Bakersfield Biorefinery project in the form of a long-term asset, and distinguishes this amount as long-term. The Company makes this determination based on its budget, recent and near-term invoicing, and internal projections. |
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| Cash and Cash Equivalents; Concentration of Credit Risk |
Cash and Cash Equivalents; Concentration of Credit Risk
The Company considers all highly liquid debt instruments maturing in three months or less to be cash equivalents. The Company maintains cash and cash equivalents at high quality financial institutions. However, deposits exceed the federally insured limits. At December 31, 2020, the Company had approximately $38 million in uninsured cash. |
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| Property and Equipment |
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost. Depreciation of office equipment is computed using the straight-line method over estimated useful lives of 3 to 5 years. Refinery assets and buildings are depreciated using the straight-line method over estimated useful lives of 5 to 25 years, however, the refinery will not begin to be depreciated until its retrofitting has been completed and it is ready for operations. Normal maintenance and repair items are charged to operating costs and are expensed as incurred. The cost and accumulated depreciation of property and equipment sold or otherwise retired are removed from the accounts and gain or loss on disposition is reflected in the statement of operations. Interest on borrowings related to the retrofitting of the Bakersfield Biorefinery is being capitalized, which will continue until the refinery is available for commercial use. During the year ended December 31, 2020, $10.2 million of interest has been capitalized, and is included in property and equipment, net on the accompanying December 31, 2020 balance sheet. |
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| Long-Lived Assets |
Long-Lived Assets
In accordance with U.S. GAAP for the impairment or disposal of long-lived assets, the carrying values of intangible assets and other long-lived assets are reviewed on a regular basis for the existence of facts or circumstances that may suggest impairment. The Company recognizes impairment when the aggregate of the expected undiscounted future cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the asset. Impairment losses, if any, are measured as the excess of the carrying amount of the asset over its estimated fair value. During the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, there were no impairment losses recognized on long-lived assets. |
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| Pre-Acquisition Costs |
Pre-Acquisition Costs
We began capitalizing pre-acquisition costs once we determined that the acquisition of the Bakersfield Biorefinery project was probable, which was in April 2019 when both the Bakersfield Biorefinery purchase agreement and the product offtake agreement were signed. We capitalized those costs that were directly identifiable with the specific property and those costs that would be capitalized if the property were already acquired. Upon the acquisition of the Bakersfield Biorefinery, these capitalized pre-acquisition costs, which totaled $3.2 million, were reclassified to property and equipment.
For the full year of 2019 and for the year 2020 up to and including the Bakersfield Biorefinery acquisition date of May 7, 2020, we capitalized $2.6 million and $0.6 million of pre-acquisition costs, respectively. Upon acquisition of the refinery, on May 7, 2020, we reclassified the accumulated pre-acquisition costs of $3.2 million to property, plant and equipment. See Note C - Property and Equipment, included herein. |
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| Debt Issuance Costs |
Debt Issuance Costs
During 2018, we signed a letter of intent to acquire our Bakersfield Refinery. The acquisition of the refinery and the related $365 million of financing to fund the retrofit closed in May 2020. In connection with financing the refinery, we incurred $0.5 million of debt issuance costs in 2019 and $6.6 million of debt issuance costs during 2020 related to acquisition of the Bakersfield Biorefinery. Debt issuance costs are amortized over the term of the loan as interest: however, as such interest relates to retrofitting of the refinery, these costs will be capitalized as part of the refinery until the refinery is placed in service. The amortization of the debt issuance costs that are not capitalized is recorded as interest expense. At December 31, 2019, certain unamortized debt issuance costs are presented on the balance sheet as deferred costs. However, upon the closing of the Bakersfield Biorefinery acquisition and as of December 31, 2020, these costs were reclassified as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of the debt liability of the financing to the extent that we borrow on the credit agreements. See Note E - Debt for more detail on the financing. |
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| Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities |
Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities
For presentation purposes, accounts payable and accrued liabilities have been combined. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, accounts payable and accrued liabilities consists of:
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| Derecognition of Liabilities |
Derecognition of Liabilities
The Company reviews its liabilities, including but not limited to, accounts payable, notes payable, accrued expenses, accrued liabilities and other legal obligations for a determination of the legal enforcement or settlement of these obligations. Upon conclusive evidence that an obligation may be extinguished, has expired, is discharged, is cancelled, or otherwise no longer legally exists, then the Company will derecognize the respective liability on its balance sheet. In 2019 the Company derecognized $2.4 million of previously outstanding liabilities upon concluding that these were no further legal obligations. These amounts are included in gain on settlement of liabilities in the 2019 statement of operations. |
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| Asset Retirement Obligations |
Asset Retirement Obligations
The Company recognizes liabilities which represent the fair value of a legal obligation to perform asset retirement activities, including those that are conditional on a future event, when the amount can be reasonably estimated. If a reasonable estimate cannot be made at the time the liability is incurred, we record the liability when sufficient information is available to estimate the liability’s fair value. We have asset retirement obligations with respect to our Bakersfield Biorefinery due to various legal obligations to clean and/or dispose of these assets at the time they are retired. However, the majority of these assets can be used for extended and indeterminate periods of time provided that they are properly maintained and/or upgraded. It is our practice and intent to continue to maintain these assets and make improvements based on technological advances. A portion of these obligations relate to the required cleanout of hydrocarbons previously used in the pipeline and terminal tanks. In order to determine the fair value of the obligations management must make certain estimates and assumptions including, among other things, projected cash flows, a credit-adjusted risk-free rate and an assessment of market conditions that could significantly impact the estimated fair value of the asset retirement obligations. 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.
We estimate our escalation rate at 3.33% and our discount factor ranges from 3.62% in year one to 7.26% in year twenty, with the weighted average discount rate being 5.0%. See Note I - Commitments and Contingencies more detail on environmental liabilities, which are accounted for separately from asset retirement obligations.
The following table provides a reconciliation of the changes in asset retirement obligations during 2020.
The amount shown includes $3.7 million which has been classified as current liabilities and included in accounts payable and accrued liabilities and $17.8 million in long term liabilities. |
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| Advances to Contractors |
Advances to Contractors
Upon the acquisition of the Bakersfield Biorefinery, the Company advanced $20.1 million to its primary engineering, procurement and construction contractor. These funds are credited against future invoices in accordance with an agreed schedule. As of December 31, 2020, the funds advance has been reduced to $16.0 million. |
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| Income Taxes |
Income Taxes
The Company utilizes the liability method of accounting for income taxes. Under the liability method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on differences between financial reporting and tax basis of assets and liabilities and the carryforward of operating losses and tax credits, and are measured using the enacted tax rates and laws that will be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance against deferred tax assets is recorded when it is more likely than not that such tax benefits will not be realized. Assets and liabilities are established for uncertain tax positions taken or positions expected to be taken in income tax returns when such positions are judged to not meet the “more-likely-than-not” threshold based on the technical merits of the positions. Estimated interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions are included as a component of general and administrative expense. |
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| Revenue Recognition |
Revenue Recognition
The Company recognizes revenue in accordance with ASC 606 using the following five-step model: (1) identify the contract with the customer, (2) identify the performance obligations in the contract, (3) determine the transaction price, (4) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract, and (5) recognize revenue. The Company did not recognize any revenues during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. The Company is engaged in contracting with farmers to grow camelina grain that will be processed into oil for use in Bakersfield Biorefinery. The Company will recognize revenues upon the sale of its patented camelina seed to the farmers and also for the crushed camelina meal that it plans to sell to third party livestock and poultry operators. Based upon the Company’s Product Offtake Agreement (see Note B - Basis of Presentation and Liquidity), the Company expects to recognize revenue from the sale of biofuel beginning in 2022. |
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| Research and Development |
Research and Development
Research and development costs are charged to operating expenses when incurred. |
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| Fair Value Measurements and Fair Value of Financial Instruments |
Fair Value Measurements and Fair Value of Financial Instruments
As of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the carrying amounts of the Company’s financial instruments that are not reported at fair value in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, including cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued liabilities approximate their fair value due to their short-term nature. The Company’s derivative liability related to its derivative forward contract for Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (see below) and mandatorily redeemable equity instruments of subsidiary are reported at fair value.
U.S. GAAP specifies a hierarchy of valuation techniques based on whether the inputs to those valuation techniques are observable or unobservable. Observable inputs reflect market data obtained from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect the Company’s market assumptions. These two types of inputs have created the following fair-value hierarchy:
Level 1— Quoted prices for identical instruments in active markets;
Level 2— Quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active, and model-derived valuations in which all significant inputs and significant value drivers are observable in active markets; and
Level 3— Valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable.
As reported for December 31, 2019, the Company had a derivative liability of $24.8 million related to a forward contract that also included a call option. The notional amount of the forward contract related to gallons of the commodity, Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel. Under the terms of the contract the Company was obligated to pay the equivalent of the notional amount multiplied by the market price of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel at the settlement dates; however, the call option of the contract capped the market price of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel.
In March 2020, the Company settled the derivative contract by replacing the derivative contract with a fixed payment obligation that required a payment of $5.5 million due on April 30, 2020 and six equal payments beginning in October 2021 totaling $17.6 million. The Company recognized $5.5 million of income from the decrease in fair value on the derivative contract from January 1, 2020 through March 19, 2020 and also recognized a gain of $512,000 on the derecognition of the derivative contract. The fixed payment obligation was amended in April 2020. Under the amendment, the amended fixed payment obligation, required the Company to pay a total of $24.8 million, including a payment of $4.5 million by the Company in June 2020, and six equal installment payments beginning in 2022 totaling $20.3 million.
The fair value of the derivative forward contract reported at December 31, 2019, and in March 2020, just prior to its derecognition,was primarily based upon the notional amount and the forward strip market prices of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel and was reduced by the fair value of the call option. The forward strip market prices are observable. However, to determine the fair value of the call option, Company used the Black’s 76 option pricing model. As a result, the contract as a whole is included in the Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy.
The Company’s mandatorily redeemable equity instruments of its subsidiary are also measured at fair value on a recurring basis. See Note E - Debt for more information.
The derivative liability discussed herein was derecognized in the first quarter of 2020, and the Company had no derivative liabilities in the quarters ending June 30, 2020, September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2020 respectively. The following presents changes in the derivative liability for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:
The following presents changes in the mandatorily redeemable equity instruments of subsidiary (Class B Units) through December 31, 2020:
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| Estimates |
Estimates
Management uses estimates and assumptions in preparing financial statements. Those estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, and reported revenues and expenses. Significant estimates used in preparing these financial statements include a) valuation of common stock, warrants, and stock options, b) the estimates assumed in determining the value of the derivative transactions, c) estimated useful lives of equipment and intangible assets, d) the estimated costs to remediate or clean-up the refinery site, and the inflation rate, credit-adjusted risk-free rate and timing of payments to calculate the asset retirement obligations, e) the estimated costs to remediate or clean-up identified environmental liabilities, f) the estimated future cash flows and the various metrics required to establish a reasonable estimate of the value of the Class B Units, and g) the allocation of the acquisition price of the Bakersfield Biorefinery to the various assets acquired. It is at least reasonably possible that the significant estimates used will change within the next year. |
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| Income/Loss Per Common Share |
Income/Loss per Common Share
Income/Loss per share amounts are computed by dividing income or loss applicable to the common stockholders of the Company by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during each period. Diluted income or loss per share amounts are computed assuming the issuance of common stock for potentially dilutive common stock equivalents. The number of dilutive warrants and options is computed using the treasury stock method, whereby the dilutive effect is reduced by the number of treasury shares the Company could purchase with the proceeds from exercises of warrants and options.
The following instruments are currently antidilutive and have been excluded from the calculations of dilutes income of loss per share at December 31, 2019 and 2020, as follows:
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| Stock Based Compensation |
Stock Based Compensation
The Company recognizes compensation expenses for stock-based awards expected to vest on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the award based on their grant date fair value. However, in the case of awards with accelerated vesting, the amount of compensation expense recognized at any date will be based upon the portion of the award that is vested at that date. The Company estimates the fair value of stock options using a Black-Scholes option pricing model which requires management to make estimates for certain assumptions regarding risk-free interest rate, expected life of options, expected volatility of stock and expected dividend yield of stock. |
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| Subsequent Events |
Subsequent Events
The Company has evaluated subsequent events through the date these consolidated financial statements were filed. See Note J - Subsequent Events, below for a description of events occurring subsequent to December 31, 2020. |
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| Recently Issued Accounting Statements |
Recently Issued Accounting Statements
Credit Losses
In June 2016, the FASB issued a new standard on measurement of credit losses. The standard introduces a new "expected loss" impairment model that applies to most financial assets measured at amortized cost and certain other instruments, including trade and other receivables and other financial assets. Entities are required to estimate expected credit losses over the life of financial assets and record an allowance against the assets’ amortized cost basis to present them at the amount expected to be collected. The new standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and early adoption is permitted. The Company does not expect the adoption of this new standard to materially impact the Company’s consolidated financial statements. |
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