Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

ORGANIZATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)

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ORGANIZATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2020
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 non-food 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 a 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 non-food feedstocks. On May 7, 2020 the Company completed the acquisition of the targeted refinery (the “Bakersfield Biorefinery”). The retrofitting of the refinery is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022. The Company has entered into a product offtake agreement with a major oil company for the majority of the renewable diesel to be produced at the Bakersfield Biorefinery. See Note B which describes the offtake agreement in more detail.

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

 

The accompanying condensed and consolidated balance sheet of the Company at December 31, 2019, has been derived from audited condensed and consolidated financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). The accompanying unaudited condensed and consolidated financial statements as of June 30, 2020 and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 8 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements, and should be read in conjunction with the audited condensed and consolidated financial statements and related notes to the financial statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 unaudited condensed and consolidated financial statements. The unaudited condensed and consolidated financial statements include all material adjustments (consisting of all normal accruals) necessary to make the condensed and consolidated financial statements not misleading as required by Regulation S-X Rule 10-01. Operating results for the six months ended June 30, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ended December 31, 2020 or any future periods.

 

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Global Clean Energy Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

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 lenders. These two accounts are restricted and not directly accessible by the Company, although these funds are credited to the Company’s balance sheet.

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.

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 of 2019 when the product offtake agreement was signed. We capitalized those costs 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 acquisition date of May 7, 2020, we capitalized $2.6 million and $0.6 million of these costs, respectively. As of May 7, 2020, we allocated our accumulated pre-acquisition costs of $3.2 million to the acquired Bakersfield Biorefinery. See Note C - Property and Equipment, included herein.

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 $4.2 million of debt issuance costs in the second quarter of 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 is classified as interest expense unless it meets the criteria to be capitalized. At March 31, 2020 and 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 June 30, 2020, these costs are classified 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.

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.

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. In the logistics segment, these obligations relate to the required cleanout of the pipeline and terminal tanks. In order to determine fair value, 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. See Note I for environmental liabilities, which are accounted for separately from asset retirement obligations.

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.

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.

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 quarters ended June 30, 2020 and 2019. Based upon the Company’s Product Offtake Agreement (see Note B), the Company expects to recognize revenue from the sale of biofuel beginning in 2022.

Research and Development

Research and Development

 

Research and development costs are charged to operating expenses when incurred.

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 table presents: 1) instruments that were dilutive for the three months ended June 30, 2019 and the six months ended June 30, 2020 and included in the diluted earnings per share, and 2) instruments that were anti-dilutive for the three months ended June 30, 2020 and six months ended June 30, 2019 and excluded from diluted earnings per share as they would have been anti-dilutive::

 

    For the Three Months ended   For the Six Months ended
                 
    June 30,   June 30,   June 30,   June 30,
    2020   2019   2020   2019
                 
    Instruments   Instruments   Instruments   Instruments
    Excluded in   Included in   Included in   Excluded in
    Diluted EPS   Diluted EPS   Diluted EPS   Diluted EPS
                                 
Convertible notes and accrued interest     101,091,766       95,955,013       101,091,766       95,955,013  
Convertible preferred stock - Series B     11,818,181       11,818,181       11,818,181       11,818,181  
Stock options and warrants     173,282,235       183,896,134       173,201,523       177,534,870  
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. For the quarters ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, charges related to stock-based compensation amounted to approximately $155,000 and $5,000, respectively. For the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, charges related to stock-based compensation amounted to approximately $181,000 and $503,000, respectively. For all quarters in 2019 and 2020, all stock-based compensation is classified in general and administrative expense.

Subsequent Events

Subsequent Events

 

The Company has evaluated subsequent events through the date these condensed consolidated financial statements were available to be issued. See Note J to these condensed consolidated financial statements for a description of events occurring subsequent to June 30, 2020.