CHENIERE ENERGY, INC. NEWS RELEASE

 

 

 

 

·

In March 2010, Cheniere Marketing, LLC (“Cheniere Marketing”) entered into various agreements with JPMorgan LNG Co. (“LNGCo”), an indirect subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase & Co., providing Cheniere Marketing with financial support to source more cargoes of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) than it could source on a stand-alone basis;

·	In May 2010, we used $102.0 million of cash received from the sale of our 30% interest in Freeport LNG Development, L.P. (“Freeport LNG”) to repay a portion of our 2007 term loan;

·

In June 2010, we used $63.6 million of cash and cash equivalents held in a terminal use agreement (“TUA”) reserve account established in connection with the 2008 convertible loans to repay a portion of the 2008 convertible loans as a result of the assignment of the Cheniere Marketing TUA to a subsidiary of Cheniere Partners;

·

In June 2010, Cheniere Partners initiated a project to add liquefaction services at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal that would transform the terminal into a bi-directional facility capable of liquefying natural gas and exporting LNG in addition to importing and regasifying foreign-sourced LNG; and

·

In September 2010, Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC, a subsidiary of Cheniere Partners, received approval from the U.S. Department of Energy to export 16.0 million tonnes per annum ("mtpa") of LNG, equivalent to approximately 2 billion cubic feet per day (“Bcf/d”), produced from domestic natural gas over a thirty year period starting not later than September 2020. This license authorizes Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC to export LNG to purchasers in countries which have a free trade agreement with the United States. A second application to expand the authorization granted in the first license to all World Trade Organization member countries, and to any other country with which the U.S. may conduct trade, has been filed and is in a 60-day public comment period which ends on December 13, 2010.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

		Three Months Ended September 30,								Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2010				2009				2010				2009
						(Unaudited)
Revenues
LNG receiving terminal revenues		$	65,945			$	65,119			$	199,109			$	103,320
Oil and gas sales			749				797				2,170				2,370
Marketing and trading, net			1,533				(9,609	)			14,703				(10,265	)
Other			21				25				58				100
Total revenues			68,248				56,332				216,040				95,525
Operating costs and expenses
LNG receiving terminal and pipeline development expenses			4,885				122				6,746				122
LNG receiving terminal and pipeline operating expenses			9,053				8,004				31,673				26,033
Oil and gas production and exploration costs			133				126				343				290
Depreciation, depletion and amortization			16,649				14,269				47,885				39,126
General and administrative expenses			15,145				15,557				51,273				48,776
Total operating costs and expenses			45,865				38,078				137,920				114,347
Income (Loss) from operations			22,383				18,254				78,120				(18,822	)
Gain on sale of equity method investment			—				—				128,330				—
Derivative gain, net			—				1,158				461				4,482
Gain (loss) on early extinguishment of debt			—				—				(1,011	)			45,363
Interest expense, net			(63,899	)			(61,557	)			(198,044	)			(176,766	)
Interest income			169				114				408				1,313
Other income (expense)			46				124				(42	)			107
Non-controlling interest			721				(590	)			1,708				6,034
Net income (loss)		$	(40,580	)		$	(42,497	)		$	9,930			$	(138,289	)
Net income (loss) per common share—basic		$	(0.73	)		$	(0.80	)		$	0.18			$	(2.71	)
Net income (loss) per common share—diluted		$	(0.73	)			(0.80	)		$	0.16			$	(2.71	)
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding—basic			55,609				52,945				55,316				51,073
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding—diluted			55,609				52,945				61,314				51,073

 

		September 30,				December 31,
		2010				2009
		(Unaudited)
Cash and cash equivalents		$	81,515			$	88,372
Restricted cash and cash equivalents			116,231				138,309
LNG inventory			901				32,602
Accounts and interest receivable			3,259				9,899
Prepaid expenses and other			15,367				17,093
Non-current restricted cash and cash equivalents			82,892				82,892
Property, plant and equipment, net			2,170,820				2,216,855
Debt issuance costs, net			39,375				47,043
Goodwill			76,819				76,819
Other assets			29,299				22,738
Total assets		$	2,616,478			$	2,732,622
Current debt (2)		$	255,097			$	—
Other current liabilities			99,310				66,212
Long-term debt, net of discount			2,660,037				3,041,875
Deferred revenue			30,734				33,500
Other liabilities			2,312				23,162
Non-controlling interest			196,103				217,605
Stockholders’ deficit			(627,115	)			(649,732	)
Total liabilities and deficit		$	2,616,478			$	2,732,622

September 30, 2010		Sabine Pass LNG, L.P.				Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P.				Other Cheniere Energy, Inc.				Consolidated Cheniere Energy, Inc.
Cash and cash equivalents		$	—			$	—			$	81,515			$	81,515
Restricted cash and cash equivalents			142,501				51,850				4,772				199,123
Total		$	142,501			$	51,850			$	86,287			$	280,638

(1)	Please refer to the Cheniere Energy, Inc. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2010, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

(2)	Current debt relates to the 2008 convertible loans where the lenders can require prepayment of the loans within 12 months of September 20, 2010.