BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND NATURE OF OPERATIONS	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Basis Of Presentation And Nature Of Operations
BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND NATURE OF OPERATIONS	BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND NATURE OF OPERATIONS Vertex Energy, Inc. (“Vertex Energy” or the “Company”), provides a range of services designed to aggregate, process and recycle industrial and commercial waste systems. Vertex Energy currently provides these services in 15 states, primarily in the Gulf Coast and Central Midwest Region of the United States. COMPANY OPERATIONS Vertex Energy’s operations are primarily focused on recycling industrial waste streams and off-specification commercial chemical products. The waste streams are purchased from an established network of local and regional collectors and generators. The Company manages the transport, storage and delivery of the aggregated feedstock and product streams to end users. Vertex Energy’s three principal segments are comprised of Black Oil, Refining and Marketing, and Recovery. Black Oil Through its Black Oil segment, which has been operational since 2001, Vertex Energy aggregates and sells used motor oil. The Company has a network of approximately 50 suppliers that collect used oil from businesses such as oil change service stations, automotive repair shops, manufacturing facilities, petroleum refineries, and petrochemical manufacturing operations. The Company procures the used oil from collectors and manages the logistics of transport, storage and delivery to our customers. Typically, the used oil is sold in bulk to ensure the efficient delivery by truck, rail, or barge. In many cases, there are contractual procurement and sale agreements with the suppliers and customers, respectively. These contracts are beneficial to all parties involved because they ensure a minimum volume is procured from collectors, a minimum volume is sold to the customers, and the Company is insulated from inventory risk by a spread between the costs to acquire used oil and the revenues received from the sale and delivery of used oil. In addition, the Company operates its own re-refining operations at the Cedar Marine Terminal, in Baytown, Texas, which uses the Company's proprietary Thermal Chemical Extraction Process (“TCEP”) technology to re-refine the used oil into marine fuel cutterstock (when such use makes economic sense) and a higher-value feedstock for further processing. The finished product can then be sold by barge as a fuel oil cutterstock and a feedstock component for major refineries. Through the operations at our Marrero, Louisiana facility, we produce a Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) product from used oil re-refining which is then sold via barge to end users to utilize in a refining process or a fuel oil blend. Through the operations at our Columbus, Ohio facility, the ownership of 65% of which was transferred to Tensile in connection with the Heartland SPV (discussed below under “Note 19. Subsequent Events” - “Heartland Share Purchase and Subscription Agreement”), effective January 1, 2020, we produce a base oil finished product which is then sold via truck or rail car to end users for blending, packaging and marketing of lubricants. Refining and Marketing Through its Refining and Marketing segment, which has been operational since 2004, Vertex Energy aggregates used motor oil, petroleum distillates, transmix and other off-specification chemical products. These feedstock streams are purchased from pipeline operators, refineries, chemical processing facilities and third-party providers. The Company has a toll-based processing agreement in place with KMTEX, LLC. (“KMTEX”) to re-refine these feedstock streams, under the Company’s direction, into various end products. KMTEX uses industry standard processing technologies to re-refine the feedstock into pygas, gasoline blendstock and marine fuel cutterstock. The Company sells the re-refined products directly to end customers or to processing facilities for further refinement. Recovery Through its Recovery segment, which has been operational since 2002, Vertex Energy generates solutions for the proper recovery and management of hydrocarbon streams. The Company owns and operates a fleet of trucks and heavy equipment used for processing, shipping and handling of reusable process equipment and other scrap commodities.

BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND NATURE OF OPERATIONS

Vertex Energy, Inc. (“Vertex Energy” or the “Company”), provides a range of services designed to aggregate, process and recycle industrial and commercial waste systems. Vertex Energy currently provides these services in 15 states, primarily in the Gulf Coast and Central Midwest Region of the United States.

COMPANY OPERATIONS

Vertex Energy’s operations are primarily focused on recycling industrial waste streams and off-specification commercial chemical products. The waste streams are purchased from an established network of local and regional collectors and generators. The Company manages the transport, storage and delivery of the aggregated feedstock and product streams to end users. Vertex Energy’s three principal segments are comprised of Black Oil, Refining and Marketing, and Recovery.

Black Oil

Through its Black Oil segment, which has been operational since 2001, Vertex Energy aggregates and sells used motor oil. The Company has a network of approximately 50 suppliers that collect used oil from businesses such as oil change service stations, automotive repair shops, manufacturing facilities, petroleum refineries, and petrochemical manufacturing operations. The Company procures the used oil from collectors and manages the logistics of transport, storage and delivery to our customers. Typically, the used oil is sold in bulk to ensure the efficient delivery by truck, rail, or barge. In many cases, there are contractual procurement and sale agreements with the suppliers and customers, respectively. These contracts are beneficial to all parties involved because they ensure a minimum volume is procured from collectors, a minimum volume is sold to the customers, and the Company is insulated from inventory risk by a spread between the costs to acquire used oil and the revenues received from the sale and delivery of used oil. In addition, the Company operates its own re-refining operations at the Cedar Marine Terminal, in Baytown, Texas, which uses the Company's proprietary Thermal Chemical Extraction Process (“TCEP”) technology to re-refine the used oil into marine fuel cutterstock (when such use makes economic sense) and a higher-value feedstock for further processing. The finished product can then be sold by barge as a fuel oil cutterstock and a feedstock component for major refineries. Through the operations at our Marrero, Louisiana facility, we produce a Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) product from used oil re-refining which is then sold via barge to end users to utilize in a refining process or a fuel oil blend. Through the operations at our Columbus, Ohio facility, the ownership of 65% of which was transferred to Tensile in connection with the Heartland SPV (discussed below under “Note 19. Subsequent Events” - “Heartland Share Purchase and Subscription Agreement”), effective January 1, 2020, we produce a base oil finished product which is then sold via truck or rail car to end users for blending, packaging and marketing of lubricants.

Refining and Marketing

Through its Refining and Marketing segment, which has been operational since 2004, Vertex Energy aggregates used motor oil, petroleum distillates, transmix and other off-specification chemical products. These feedstock streams are purchased from pipeline operators, refineries, chemical processing facilities and third-party providers. The Company has a toll-based processing agreement in place with KMTEX, LLC. (“KMTEX”) to re-refine these feedstock streams, under the Company’s direction, into various end products. KMTEX uses industry standard processing technologies to re-refine the feedstock into pygas, gasoline blendstock and marine fuel cutterstock. The Company sells the re-refined products directly to end customers or to processing facilities for further refinement.

Recovery

Through its Recovery segment, which has been operational since 2002, Vertex Energy generates solutions for the proper recovery and management of hydrocarbon streams. The Company owns and operates a fleet of trucks and heavy equipment used for processing, shipping and handling of reusable process equipment and other scrap commodities.