ETHANOL MARKETING AGREEMENTAdvertising or Marketing Agreement |
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E ENERGY ADAMS LLC | AVENTINE RENEWABLE ENERGY, INC. RealDealDocs™ contains millions of easily searchable legal documents and clauses from top law firms. Search for free - click here. |
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Exhibit 10.8
ETHANOL MARKETING AGREEMENT
This
Ethanol Marketing Agreement (“Agreement”) is made and entered into
as of the 9th day of October, 2006, by and between E ENERGY ADAMS, LLC, a
Nebraska limited liability company (“E ENERGY”), and AVENTINE RENEWABLE
ENERGY, INC., a Delaware corporation (“ARE”) (each a “Party”, and
collectively the “Parties”).
In
consideration of the mutual terms and conditions contained herein, the Parties
agree as follows:
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1. |
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Term and
Termination: The term
of this Agreement shall commence on the date hereof and shall continue for a
primary term of three (3) years, from the first day of the first month
commencing after the date of the first Bill of Lading delivered hereunder and
thereafter; automatically renewing for successive one (1) year terms,
unless terminated on the expiration date of the initial three (3) year
primary term, or on the expiration date of any subsequent one (1) year
renewal term, in each case by either Party with at least one (1) year written
notice prior to such expiration date. If one of the parties breaches the
terms of this Agreement, the other party may give the breaching party a
notice in writing which specifically sets out the nature and extent of the
breach, and the steps that must be taken to cure the breach. After receiving
the written notice, the breaching party will then have thirty (30) days
to cure the breach, if the breach does not involve a failure to market and
distribute the ethanol as required by this Agreement. If the breach does involve
a failure to market and distribute the ethanol as required by this Agreement,
then the breaching party will have five (5) calendar days after
receiving the written notice to cure the breach. If the breaching party does
not cure any breach within the applicable cure period, then the non-breaching
party will have the right to terminate this Agreement immediately. |
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2. |
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Quantity and
Quality |
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E ENERGY shall
sell exclusively to ARE its total output of “Ethanol” (as
hereinafter defined), currently anticipated to be fifty million (50,000,000)
gallons per year. Ethanol shall be delivered FOB the Plant, and title shall
pass on the date of the Bill of Lading. |
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A. |
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For purposes of
this Agreement, the “Ethanol” of E ENERGY shall include all
fuel-grade ethanol produced at E ENERGY’s Adams, Nebraska, facility
(the “Plant”), except that E ENERGY shall retain the right to
ratably market up to ten percent (10%) of E ENERGY’s total annual
production. E ENERGY shall give sufficient advance written notice of such
gallons to ARE as the parties may agree. Upon receipt of such notice from E
ENERGY, ARE shall grant written permission to E ENERGY to make such gallons
available for marketing by E ENERGY as soon as possible, and such permission
shall not be unreasonably withheld. Under no circumstance shall any gallons
committed to customers of ARE |
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be available for marketing
by E ENERGY. Once permission is granted to E ENERGY by ARE, the requested
gallons shall become the sole responsibility of E ENERGY. |
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B. |
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Such Ethanol
shall meet or exceed all industry standards or any specifications so required
by the customer. ARE shall have the right to reject any Ethanol which does
not meet such standards and such standards are subject to change by ARE. |
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ARE shall: |
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Be solely
responsible for the marketing, sale and delivery of all of the Ethanol
produced by E ENERGY at the Plant, at the price outlined in Section 5. |
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B. |
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Remit payment
to E ENERGY for the Ethanol as provided in Section 5; and |
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C. |
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Be solely
responsible for scheduling all shipments of Ethanol with E ENERGY, which
shall include obtaining sufficient railcar, tank trucks and other transport
as may be needed to handle said production, negotiating rates and tariffs to
be charged for delivery of said production to the customer, ascertaining that
said production is delivered where contracted as intended, handling all
purchase agreements with customers and any complaints in connection therewith
and collecting all accounts and undertaking any legal collection procedures
as may be necessary. |
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D. |
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Commit all of
ARE’s Midwest equity gallons to the pool. |
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4. |
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E ENERGY shall: |
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A. |
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Provide to ARE
on a timely basis a fifteen month production forecasts, monthly updates to
the fifteen month production forecasts, daily plant inventory balances and
shipment information, and other information reasonably requested by ARE. E
ENERGY shall use its reasonable best efforts to meet the monthly production
targets reflected in the fifteen month production forecast; |
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B. |
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Notify ARE
promptly of any material unscheduled shut-down, suspension, or significant
decrease in production at the Plant that was not reported in the rolling
fifteen month production forecasts or monthly updates provided under
Section 4.A. above; |
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C. |
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Provide to ARE
specifications and certificates of analysis of the Ethanol sold to ARE that
are consistent with the specifications referred to in Section 2.B.
above. E ENERGY shall, at its expense, provide or cause to be provided all
testing and related test equipment at or in the vicinity of |
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the Plant to
determine compliance with such specifications. ARE or its representative may,
at ARE’s expense, have the right to perform periodic tests to determine
compliance with such specifications. |
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D. |
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Be responsible
for compliance with all federal, state, and local rules, regulations, and
requirements regarding the shipment of Ethanol from the Plant, including but
not limited to, all U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”)
requirements relating to shipment of hazardous materials (e.g. proper
paperwork, railcars meeting DOT requirements, etc.). |
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E. |
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Provide for a
minimum of eight (8) calendar days storage of the Ethanol on E
ENERGY’s premises at E ENERGY’s cost; |
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F. |
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For all gallons
sold to ARE, use certified meters or weight-scales that provide both gross
and net 60º Fahrenheit temperature compensated gallons; and |
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G. |
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Provide any of
the information to be provided by E ENERGY pursuant to this Section 4 to
ARE electronically in data form, if such information is available in such
form. |
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5. |
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Pricing and
Commission |
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A. |
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Sales Price. The per gallon sale price E ENERGY
shall receive for the Ethanol sold to ARE under this Agreement shall be based
on the “Alliance Net Pool Price” (as defined below) which shall
be adjusted to reflect the “Pooled Volume Adjustment” and/or
“Pooled Volume True-Up” (as those terms are defined below), as
applicable. An illustrative example of the calculation of Alliance Net Pool
Price is attached as Exhibit A hereto. |
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a. |
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“Alliance
Net Pool Price” shall mean, with respect to any month, (i) the
weighted average gross price per gallon received by ARE for all fuel grade
Ethanol that was (A) supplied by an alliance partner or produced by ARE
and (B) sold during such month by ARE, minus (ii) all actual
costs (on a per gallon basis) incurred by ARE in conjunction with the
handling, movement and sale of such Ethanol, including but not limited to
terminal lease charges, throughput charges, terminal shrinkage costs, freight
charges, tariffs, costs of leasing railcars, trucks, river barges and ocean
going vessels, government taxes and assessments, insurance, inspection fees,
administrative costs, working capital carrying costs, bad debt expense, and
costs of purchasing and delivering replacement ethanol due to lost or
interrupted Ethanol production and other costs, but excluding direct
marketing costs incurred in marketing such Ethanol. ARE shall use commercially
reasonable efforts to contain the costs described in clause (ii) above
so as to maximize the Alliance Net Pool Price. |
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b. |
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If ARE’s
pooled volume of fuel grade Ethanol at the end of a month is higher than its
pooled volume at the end of the immediately preceding month because pooled
sales volumes were less than the aggregate volume supplied by the alliance
partners or produced by ARE during such month, the Alliance Net Pool Price
for such month shall be calculated as if the amount of such increase was
included as gallons supplied by the alliance partners and/or produced by ARE
and sold by ARE during such month at a price per gallon equal to the
estimated Alliance Net Pool Price for the immediately following month (as
determined in good faith by ARE). The amount by which the Alliance Net Pool
Price for any month is increased or decreased as a result of the foregoing
sentence is the “Pooled Volume Adjustment” for such month. |
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c. |
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In the event
that the actual Alliance Net Pool Price for a month is different from the
estimated Alliance Net Pool Price used in calculating the Pooled Volume
Adjustment for the immediately preceding month, an adjustment to the Alliance
Net Pool Price in the current month shall be made by an offset which is equal
to the amount of such difference. Such adjustment is the “Pooled Volume
True-Up.” Payment shall be made in accordance with paragraph C below. A
Pooled Volume True-Up shall occur at the time of payment for the last
delivery of Ethanol under this Agreement to reflect the actual Alliance Net
Pool Price for the final month of the term of this Agreement. |
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B. |
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Commission. For each gallon of Ethanol sold by E
ENERGY to ARE under this Agreement, ARE shall deduct from the Alliance Net
Pool Price a commission equal to three quarters of one percent (0.75%) of the
Alliance Net Pool Price. |
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C. |
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Payment. For all quantities of Ethanol purchased
by ARE from E ENERGY and shipped from the Plant during a one-week period
beginning on Monday and ending on the following Sunday, ARE shall pay the
estimated Alliance Net Pool Price referred to in Section 5.A. less
commissions referred to in Section 5.B., to E ENERGY by ACH or wire no
later than ten (10) business days following the end of said one-week period.
If at calendar month’s end, the actual Alliance Net Pool Price exceeds
the estimated Alliance Net Pool Price, ARE shall pay E ENERGY on or before
the 15th business day of the following calendar
month an amount equal to the product of (i) the difference between the
actual and estimated Alliance Net Pool Price (in each case less commissions)
and (ii) the aggregate quantity of Ethanol purchased by ARE from E
ENERGY and shipped from the Plant under this Agreement during the prior
calendar month. If the actual Alliance Net Pool Price is less than the
estimated Alliance Net Pool Price, E ENERGY shall pay ARE, and ARE shall have
the right to withhold and set off from future payments to E ENERGY, an amount
equal to the product of (x) the difference between the actual and estimated
Alliance Net Pool Price (in each case less commissions) and (y) |
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the aggregate
quantity of Ethanol purchased by ARE from E ENERGY and shipped from the Plant
under this Agreement during such month. |
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D. |
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Supporting
Records. ARE shall keep
a set of books and records in accordance with generally accepting accounting
principals with respect to all sales of Ethanol hereunder and all costs and
commissions associated therewith, and shall make such books and records
reasonably available to E ENERGY’s independent outside accounting
representatives (upon execution by such independent outside accounting
representative of a mutually agreeable confidentiality agreement) at
ARE’s office at any time by appointment during normal business hours
upon at least five (5) business days prior written notice; provided
that E ENERGY shall be entitled to no more than one (1) such visit
in any calendar year and E ENERGY’s independent outside accounting
representatives shall be permitted to disclose to E ENERGY only aggregate
summary information of the results of its review, and not any contract or
customer specific information. In addition, ARE shall provide E ENERGY by
e-mail or fax with supporting documentation regarding the calculation of the
estimated Alliance Net Pool Price with each weekly payment for Ethanol. |






