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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K

  For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008

OR

  For the transition period from              to             

Commission File No. 001-16383

CHENIERE ENERGY, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (713) 375-5000

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes  ¨  No  x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes  ¨  No  x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes  x  No  ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer, accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes  ¨  No  x

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s Common Stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $196,000,000 as of June 30, 2008.

52,212,143 shares of the registrant’s Common Stock were outstanding as of February 17, 2009.

Documents incorporated by reference: The definitive proxy statement for the registrant’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders (to be filed within 120 days of the close of the registrant’s fiscal year) is incorporated by reference into Part III.

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CHENIERE ENERGY, INC.

Index to Form 10-K

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This annual report contains certain statements that are, or may be deemed to be, “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included herein or incorporated herein by reference are “forward-looking statements.” Included among “forward-looking statements” are, among other things:

These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of terms and phrases such as “achieve,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “develop,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “plan,” “potential,” “project,” “propose,” “strategy” and similar terms and phrases. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this annual report.

Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in “Risk Factors.” All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these risk factors. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this annual report.

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DEFINITIONS

In this annual report, unless the context otherwise requires:

PART I

ITEMS 1. AND 2. BUSINESS AND PROPERTIES

General

Cheniere Energy, Inc., a Delaware corporation, is a Houston-based company engaged, through its subsidiaries, in the energy business generally. As used in this annual report, the terms “Cheniere”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to Cheniere Energy, Inc. and its subsidiaries, including our publicly traded subsidiary partnership, Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. (“Cheniere Partners”). We are currently engaged primarily in the business of developing and constructing, and then owning and operating, a network of three onshore LNG receiving terminals and natural gas pipelines, and we are also developing a business to market LNG and natural gas, primarily through our wholly-owned subsidiary, Cheniere Marketing, LLC (“Cheniere Marketing”), formerly Cheniere Marketing, Inc.

Our common stock has been publicly traded since July 3, 1996 and is currently traded on the NYSE Alternext US, formerly the American Stock Exchange, under the symbol “LNG”. Our principal executive offices are located at 700 Milam Street, Suite 800, Houston, Texas 77002, and our telephone number is (713) 375-5000. Our internet address is http://www.cheniere.com. We provide public access to our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to these reports as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file those materials with, or furnish those materials to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) under the Exchange Act. These reports may be accessed free of charge through our internet website. We make our website content available for informational purposes only. The website should not be relied upon for investment purposes, nor is it incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K.

Cheniere Energy Partners

In March and April 2007, we and Cheniere Partners completed a public offering of 15,525,000 Cheniere Partners common units. Cheniere Partners received $98.4 million of net proceeds, after deducting the underwriting discount and structuring fees, upon issuance of 5,054,164 common units to the public in the offering. Cheniere Partners invested the $98.4 million of net proceeds that it received from the offering in U.S. Treasury securities to fund a distribution reserve. As part of the offering, we, as a selling unitholder, received $203.9 million of net proceeds in connection with the sale of 10,470,836 of our Cheniere Partners common units to the public. In connection with the offering and in exchange for Cheniere Partners common and subordinated units, we contributed the equity interests in the entity owning the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal to Cheniere Partners. As a result of the public offering, our ownership interest in Cheniere Partners is approximately 90.6%.

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Business Segments

Our business activities are conducted by three operating segments for which we provide information in our financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006 as required under Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 131, “Disclosures about Segments of an Enterprise and Related Information.” These three segments are our:

Overview of the LNG Industry

LNG is natural gas that, through a refrigeration process, has been reduced to a liquid state, which represents approximately 1/600th of its gaseous volume. The liquefaction of natural gas into LNG allows it to be shipped economically from areas of the world where natural gas is abundant and inexpensive to produce to other areas where natural gas demand and infrastructure exist to justify economically the use of LNG. LNG is transported using oceangoing LNG vessels specifically constructed for this purpose. LNG receiving terminals offload LNG from LNG vessels, store the LNG prior to processing, heat the LNG to return it to a gaseous state and deliver the resulting natural gas into pipelines for transportation to market.

Our Business Strategy

We are pursuing a business strategy with the following primary components:

LNG Receiving Terminal Business

We began developing our LNG receiving terminal business in 1999 and were among the first companies to secure sites and commence development of new LNG receiving terminals in North America. We focused our development efforts on three LNG receiving terminal projects: Sabine Pass LNG in western Cameron Parish, Louisiana on the Sabine Pass Channel; Corpus Christi LNG near Corpus Christi, Texas; and Creole Trail LNG at the mouth of the Calcasieu Channel in central Cameron Parish, Louisiana. Our ownership interest in the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal is held through Cheniere Partners, in which we hold an approximate 90.6% interest. Cheniere Partners owns a 100% interest in Sabine Pass LNG, L.P. (“Sabine Pass LNG”), which is currently constructing the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal. We currently own 100% interests in both the Corpus Christi and Creole Trail LNG receiving terminal projects. In addition, we own a 30% limited partner interest in a fourth LNG receiving terminal project, Freeport LNG, located on Quintana Island near Freeport, Texas.

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Sabine Pass LNG Receiving Terminal

Development

We are constructing the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal in western Cameron Parish, Louisiana, on the Sabine Pass Channel. In 2003, we formed Sabine Pass LNG to own, develop and operate the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal. We have leases for three tracts of land consisting of 853 acres in Cameron Parish, Louisiana for the project site. The Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal was designed, and permitted by the FERC, with an initial regasification capacity of approximately 2.6 Bcf/d and three LNG storage tanks with an aggregate LNG storage capacity of approximately 10.1 Bcf and two unloading docks capable of handling the largest LNG carriers currently being operated or built. In June 2006, Sabine Pass LNG received approval from the FERC to expand the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal by adding up to three additional LNG storage tanks, vaporizers and related facilities, and we are increasing the regasification capacity of the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal from approximately 2.6 Bcf/d to 4.0 Bcf/d (with peak capacity of 4.3 Bcf/d) and increasing the aggregate LNG storage capacity from approximately 10.1 Bcf to 16.8 Bcf.

Construction

We have completed physical construction of the initial 2.6 Bcf/d of sendout capacity and 10.1 Bcf of storage capacity at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal and are now able to accept commercial cargoes. In order to complete commissioning and testing of this initial phase of the facility, our primary construction contractor, Bechtel Corporation (“Bechtel”), will need to complete specified outstanding work items. Construction of the remaining 1.4 Bcf/d of sendout capacity and 6.7 Bcf of storage capacity was approximately 88% complete as of December 31, 2008, and we anticipate achieving full operability, with total sendout capacity of approximately 4.0 Bcf/d and storage capacity of approximately 16.8 Bcf, during the third quarter of 2009.

Our estimated aggregate construction, commissioning and operating cost budget through the achievement of full operability of the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal, with approximately 4.0 Bcf/d of total sendout capacity and five storage tanks with approximately 16.8 Bcf of aggregate storage capacity, is approximately $1,559 million, excluding financing costs. Of this amount, approximately $1,416 million of construction and commissioning costs had been incurred as of December 31, 2008. Our remaining construction, commissioning and operating costs are anticipated to be funded from working capital and restricted cash and cash equivalents designated for construction. Our cost estimates are subject to change due to such items as cost overruns, change orders, increased component and material costs, LNG costs, escalation of labor costs and increased spending to maintain our construction schedule.

Customers

The entire approximately 4.0 Bcf/d of regasification capacity that will be available at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal upon completion of construction has been fully reserved under three long-term TUAs, under which Sabine Pass LNG’s customers are required to pay fixed monthly fees, whether or not they use the terminal. Because we achieved commercial operability of the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal in September 2008, capacity reservation fee TUA payments will begin to be made by our third-party customers as follows:

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In addition, Cheniere Marketing has reserved the remaining 2.0 Bcf/d of regasification capacity, and is entitled to use any capacity not utilized by Total and Chevron. Cheniere Marketing began making its TUA payment in the fourth quarter of 2008. Cheniere Marketing is required to make monthly capacity payments aggregating approximately $250 million per year for the period from January 1, 2009, through at least the third quarter of 2028. Cheniere has guaranteed Cheniere Marketing’s obligations under its TUA.

Under each of these TUAs, Sabine Pass LNG is also entitled to retain 2% of the LNG delivered for the customer’s account, which Sabine Pass LNG will use primarily as fuel for revaporization and self-generated power at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal.

Each of Total and Chevron has paid us $20 million in nonrefundable advance capacity reservation fees, which will be amortized over a 10-year period as a reduction of each customer’s regasification capacity fees payable under its TUA.

Corpus Christi LNG Receiving Terminal

We are also developing the Corpus Christi LNG receiving terminal near Corpus Christi, Texas. We formed Corpus Christi LNG, L.P. (“Corpus Christi LNG”) in May 2003 to develop the terminal. The Corpus Christi LNG receiving terminal is located on 612 acres and was designed, and permitted by the FERC, with a regasification capacity of approximately 2.6 Bcf/d, three LNG storage tanks with an aggregate LNG storage capacity of approximately 10.1 Bcf and two unloading docks capable of handling the largest LNG carriers currently being operated or built. In December 2005, the FERC issued an order authorizing Corpus Christi LNG to commence initial construction of the Corpus Christi LNG receiving terminal, subject to satisfaction of certain conditions specified by the FERC. In order to accelerate the timing of its development of the Corpus Christi LNG receiving terminal, Corpus Christi LNG commenced in April 2006 preliminary site work, which has since been completed. We will contemplate making a final investment decision to complete construction of the Corpus Christi LNG receiving terminal upon, among other things, achieving acceptable commercial arrangements and entering into acceptable financing arrangements.

Creole Trail LNG Receiving Terminal

We are also developing an LNG receiving terminal at the mouth of the Calcasieu Channel in central Cameron Parish, Louisiana. We formed Creole Trail LNG, L.P. (“Creole Trail LNG”) in December 2004 to develop the terminal. We have options to lease tracts of land comprising 1,750 acres in Cameron Parish, Louisiana for the project site. The Creole Trail LNG receiving terminal was designed, and permitted by the FERC, with a regasification capacity of 3.3 Bcf/d, four LNG storage tanks with an aggregate LNG storage capacity of 13.5 Bcf and two unloading docks capable of handling the largest LNG carriers currently being operated or built. In June 2006, the FERC authorized Creole Trail LNG to site, construct and operate the Creole Trail LNG receiving terminal. We will contemplate making a final investment decision to commence construction of the Creole Trail LNG receiving terminal upon, among other things, achieving acceptable commercial arrangements and entering into acceptable financing arrangements.

Other LNG Receiving Terminal Sites

We continue to evaluate, and may develop, additional sites that we believe may be commercially desirable locations for LNG receiving terminals.

Other LNG Receiving Terminal Interests—Freeport LNG

We own a 30% limited partner interest in Freeport LNG Development, L.P. (“Freeport LNG”), which has constructed an LNG receiving facility on Quintana Island near Freeport, Texas. The first phase of the project includes regasification capacity of 1.75 Bcf/d, one dock, two LNG storage tanks with an aggregate LNG storage capacity of 6.7 Bcf, and a 9.4-mile, 42-inch diameter pipeline through which natural gas will be transported to

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customer redelivery points at Stratton Ridge, Texas. A proposed second phase, which has received FERC approval, would include additional regasification capacity of up to 2.25 Bcf/d, a second dock, and a third LNG storage tank. Freeport LNG is also currently constructing 7.5 Bcf of underground salt cavern storage at Stratton Ridge which is expected to be completed and integrated with the LNG receiving terminal operations in the first quarter of 2011.

Freeport LNG has entered into TUAs with three customers: The Dow Chemical Company for approximately 500 MMcf/d of regasification capacity; ConocoPhillips Company for approximately 900 MMcf/d of regasification capacity; and MC Global Gas Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation, for approximately 150 MMcf/d of regasification capacity. In June 2008, Freeport LNG achieved commercial operability, and it began receiving TUA payments from its customers in the second half of 2008.

In March 2008 and May 2008, we received cash call notices from Freeport LNG requesting that we provide further financial support due to higher than expected commissioning and performance testing costs. During 2008, we funded the cash calls and have recorded $4.8 million of additional losses in Freeport LNG. In addition, Freeport LNG distributed $4.8 million of dividends to us in October 2008.

LNG Receiving Terminal Competition

New supplies to meet North America’s natural gas demand could be developed from a combination of the following sources:

In addition, demand for energy currently met by natural gas could alternatively be met by other energy forms such as coal, hydroelectric, oil, wind, solar and nuclear energy. LNG will face competition from each of these energy sources.

We compete with other companies to construct LNG receiving terminals in economically desirable locations. According to the FERC, as of January 15, 2009, there were eight existing LNG receiving terminals in North America, two of which are offshore facilities for receiving natural gas regasified from LNG onboard specialized LNG vessels, as well as other new LNG receiving terminals or expansions approved or proposed to be constructed. To the extent that we may desire to sell regasification capacity in our LNG receiving terminals, we will compete with other third-party LNG receiving terminals or existing terminals having uncommitted capacity.

In addition, in connection with our efforts to obtain LNG to exploit our retained capacity at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal or to commission, test or maintain the terminal, we must compete in the world LNG market to purchase and transport cargoes of LNG.

LNG Receiving Terminal Governmental Regulation

Our LNG receiving terminal operations are subject to extensive regulation under federal, state and local statutes, rules, regulations and other laws. Among other matters, these laws require that we engage in consultations with certain federal and state agencies and that we obtain certain permits and other authorizations before commencement of construction and operation of LNG receiving terminals. This regulatory burden increases the cost of constructing and operating the LNG receiving terminals, and failure to comply with such laws could result in substantial penalties.

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FERC

In order to site and construct our proposed LNG receiving terminals, we must receive and are required to maintain authorization from the FERC under Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act of 1938 (“NGA”). In addition, orders from the FERC authorizing construction of an LNG receiving terminal are typically subject to specified conditions that must be satisfied throughout the construction, commissioning and operation of terminals. Throughout the life of our LNG receiving terminals, they will be subject to regular reporting requirements to the FERC and the U.S. Department of Transportation regarding the operation and maintenance of the facilities.

In 2005, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (“EPAct”) was signed into law. The EPAct gave the FERC exclusive authority to approve or deny an application for the siting, construction, expansion or operation of an LNG receiving terminal. The EPAct also amended the NGA to prohibit market manipulation and the NGA and the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 (“NGPA”) to increase civil and criminal penalties for any violations of the NGA, NGPA and any rules, regulations or orders of the FERC up to $1.0 million per day per violation. The FERC issued a final rule making it unlawful for any entity, in connection with the purchase or sale of natural gas or transportation service subject to the FERC’s jurisdiction, to defraud, make an untrue statement or omit a material fact or engage in any practice, act or course of business that operates or would operate as a fraud.

Other Federal Governmental Permits, Approvals and Consultations

In addition to the FERC authorization under Section 3 of the NGA, our construction and operation of LNG receiving terminals are also subject to additional federal permits, approvals and consultations required by certain other federal agencies, including: Advisory Counsel on Historic Preservation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Services, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Our LNG receiving terminals will also be subject to U.S. Department of Transportation siting requirements and regulations of the U.S. Coast Guard relating to facility security. Moreover, our LNG receiving terminals will also be subject to local and state laws, rules and regulations.

LNG Receiving Terminal Environmental Regulation

Our LNG receiving terminal operations are subject to various federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment. These environmental laws and regulations may impose substantial penalties for noncompliance and substantial liabilities for pollution. Many of these laws and regulations restrict or prohibit the types, quantities and concentration of substances that can be released into the environment and can lead to substantial liabilities for non-compliance or releases. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations may also result in substantial civil and criminal fines and penalties.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA)

CERCLA, also known as the “Superfund” law, imposes liability, without regard to fault, on certain classes of persons who are considered to be responsible for the spill or release of a hazardous substance into the environment. Potentially liable persons include the owner or operator of the site where the release occurred and persons who disposed or arranged for the disposal of hazardous substances at the site. Under CERCLA, responsible persons may be subject to joint and several liability. Although CERCLA currently excludes petroleum, natural gas, natural gas liquids and LNG from its definition of “hazardous substances,” this exemption may be limited or modified by the U.S. Congress in the future.

Clean Air Act (CAA)

Our LNG receiving terminal operations are subject to the federal CAA and comparable state and local laws. We may be required to incur certain capital expenditures over the next several years for air pollution control equipment in

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connection with maintaining or obtaining permits and approvals addressing other air emission-related issues. We do not believe, however, that our operations will be materially adversely affected by any such requirements.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the EPA has authority under existing legislation to regulate carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases in mobile source emissions. In addition, Congress has considered proposed legislation directed at reducing “greenhouse gas emissions.” It is not possible at this time to predict how future regulations or legislation may address greenhouse gas emissions and impact our business. However, future regulations and laws could result in increased compliance costs or additional operating restrictions, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Clean Water Act (CWA)

Our LNG receiving terminal operations are also subject to the federal CWA and analogous state and local laws. Pursuant to certain requirements of the CWA, the EPA has adopted regulations concerning discharges of wastewater and storm water runoff. This program requires covered facilities to obtain individual permits, participate in a group permit or seek coverage under an EPA general permit.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

The federal RCRA and comparable state statutes govern the disposal of “hazardous wastes.” In the event any hazardous wastes are generated in connection with our LNG receiving terminal operations, we are subject to regulatory requirements affecting the handling, transportation, treatment, storage and disposal of such wastes.

Endangered Species Act

Our LNG receiving terminal operations and planned construction activities may also be restricted by requirements under the Endangered Species Act, which seeks to ensure that human activities neither jeopardize endangered or threatened animal, fish and plant species nor destroy or modify their critical habitats.

As with the industry generally, our operations will entail risks in these areas, and compliance with these laws and regulations increases our overall cost of doing business. While these laws and regulations affect our capital expenditures and earnings, we believe that these laws and regulations do not affect our competitive position in the industry because our competitors are similarly affected. Environmental laws and regulations have historically been subject to frequent revision and reinterpretation. Consequently, we are unable to predict the future costs or other future impacts of environmental regulations on our future operations.

Natural Gas Pipeline Business

We formed Cheniere Pipeline Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary, to develop natural gas pipelines to provide access to North American natural gas markets for customers of our Sabine Pass and proposed Corpus Christi and Creole Trail LNG receiving terminals. We are also developing other pipeline projects not primarily related to our LNG receiving terminals. Our pipeline systems developed in conjunction with our LNG receiving terminals will interconnect with multiple interstate pipelines, providing a means of delivering revaporized natural gas from our LNG receiving terminals to various North American natural gas markets. Our other projects are market focused, seeking to connect natural gas supplies to growing markets. Our ultimate decisions regarding pipeline connections to our facilities will depend upon future events, including, in particular, customer preferences and general market demand for natural gas from a particular LNG receiving terminal.

Creole Trail Pipeline

Development

In October 2007, the FERC approved an application to merge our Sabine Pass Pipeline into our Creole Trail Pipeline, thereby creating an integrated pipeline system of approximately 153 miles in length. The Creole Trail

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Pipeline is being constructed in two phases. Phase 1, which is currently in-service and operating, consists of 94 miles of natural gas pipeline connecting the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal to numerous interconnection points with existing interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines in southwest Louisiana. Phase 2, once constructed, will consist of approximately 59 miles of natural gas pipeline running from the terminus of Phase 1 east to a terminus near Rayne, Louisiana with interconnections to additional existing interstate natural gas pipelines.

Construction & Operation

Phase 1 of the Creole Trail Pipeline commenced construction in the second quarter of 2007 and was placed into service, in segments, between April and June 2008. In conjunction with the pipeline, six delivery meter stations were commissioned, which provide access to eight major interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline systems. The total cost to construct Phase 1 of the Creole Trail Pipeline was approximately $552 million, net of anticipated rebates and before financing costs, with only minimal construction costs remaining in 2009.

We will contemplate making a final investment decision to construct Phase 2 of the Creole Trail Pipeline upon, among other things, achieving acceptable commercial arrangements and entering into acceptable financing arrangements.

Customers

We offered capacity on our Creole Trail Pipeline to potential customers through a formal open season process, and awarded Cheniere Marketing all of the capacity in the Creole Trail Pipeline. Cheniere Marketing and Creole Trail Pipeline agreed to a firm transportation agreement for transportation at a negotiated rate in June 2007. In April 2008, Creole Trail Pipeline and Cheniere Marketing mutually agreed to terminate the aforementioned firm transportation agreement. Cheniere Marketing subsequently entered into an interruptible transportation agreement with Creole Trail Pipeline. 2.0 Bcf/d of firm transportation capacity is available to customers with whom we enter into TUAs for our LNG receiving terminal capacity and who may also desire to enter into agreements for the transportation of revaporized gas on the Creole Trail Pipeline.

Corpus Christi Pipeline

We formed Cheniere Corpus Christi Pipeline, L.P., a wholly-owned subsidiary, to develop a 24-mile, 48-inch interstate natural gas pipeline that is designed to transport 2.6 Bcf/d of regasified LNG, from the Corpus Christi LNG receiving terminal northwesterly along a corridor that will allow for interconnection points with various interstate and intrastate natural gas transmission pipelines. The FERC issued an order in April 2005 authorizing us to construct, own and operate the Corpus Christi Pipeline, subject to specified conditions that must be satisfied. We will contemplate making an investment decision to commence construction of the Corpus Christi Pipeline upon, among other things, achieving acceptable commercial arrangements and entering into acceptable financing arrangements to build the Corpus Christi LNG receiving terminal.

Other Pipelines

We continue to evaluate, and may develop, additional pipelines that we believe may be commercially desirable based on customer preferences and general market demand for natural gas. Currently, we are evaluating the following pipeline projects:

Cheniere Southern Trail Pipeline

As currently contemplated, the Cheniere Southern Trail Pipeline would involve the construction of approximately 350 miles of up to 42-inch diameter pipeline that is currently estimated to cost approximately $1.5 billion, before financing costs. We will contemplate making a final investment decision to commence

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construction of the Cheniere Southern Trail Pipeline upon, among other things, entering into acceptable commercial arrangements, applying for and receiving FERC authorization to construct and operate the pipeline and obtaining adequate financing to construct the Cheniere Southern Trail Pipeline.

Frontera Pipeline

In September 2007, we entered into an equity purchase agreement with Tidelands Oil & Gas Corporation and acquired an 80% interest in Frontera Pipeline, LLC (“Frontera”), an entity which owns 100% of Sonora Pipeline, LLC and Terranova Energia. In October 2008, we acquired the remaining 20% interest in Frontera from Tidelands. Frontera, through Sonora and Terranova, is developing the Burgos Hub Project, which is a proposed integrated pipeline project traversing the United States and Mexico border, and the potential construction of a related underground natural gas storage facility in Mexico. The aggregate cost to construct the project is currently estimated to be approximately $700 million to $800 million, before financing costs. Our cost estimate is subject to change due to such items as cost overruns, change orders, delays in construction, increased component and material costs, escalation of labor costs and increased spending to maintain our construction schedule. We will contemplate making a final investment decision in the Burgos Hub Project upon, among other things, receiving all required authorizations to construct and operate the pipeline and storage facility, arranging appropriate financing and entering into acceptable commercial arrangements for the pipeline and storage facility.

Natural Gas Pipeline Competition

Our existing and proposed pipelines will compete with intrastate and other interstate pipelines throughout the Gulf Coast region. The principal elements of competition among pipelines are rates, terms of service, access to supply and flexibility and reliability of service. In addition, the FERC’s continuing efforts to increase competition in the natural gas industry are increasing the natural gas transportation options of a pipeline’s traditional customers.

Our pipelines will face competition from other intrastate and/or interstate pipelines that connect with our LNG receiving terminals. In particular, our Creole Trail Pipeline competes with the Kinder Morgan Louisiana Pipeline owned by Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (“Kinder Morgan”). Kinder Morgan is building a 3.2 Bcf/d take-away pipeline system from the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal. Total and Chevron have both signed agreements with Kinder Morgan securing 100% of the initial capacity on the Kinder Morgan Louisiana Pipeline for 20 years.

Natural Gas Pipeline Governmental Regulation

Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines

Under the NGA, the FERC is granted authority to approve , and if necessary, set “just and reasonable rates” for the transmission or sale of natural gas in interstate commerce. It also gives FERC the authority to grant certificates allowing construction and operation of facilities used in interstate gas transmission and authorizing the provision of services. Under the NGA, the FERC’s jurisdiction generally extends to the transportation of natural gas in interstate commerce, to the sale in interstate commerce of natural gas for resale for ultimate public consumption for domestic, commercial, industrial, or any other use, and to natural-gas companies engaged in such transportation or sale. However, FERC’s jurisdiction does not extend to the production, gathering, or local distribution of natural gas.

In general, the FERC’s authority to regulate interstate natural gas pipelines and the services that they provide includes:

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Failure to comply with the NGA can result in the imposition of administrative, civil and criminal remedies, including civil and criminal penalties which were recently increased under the EPAct.

The natural gas industry has been regulated since 1938 when the NGA was enacted. Among other things, the FERC regulates the transportation rates and terms and conditions of service of interstate natural gas pipelines. See “—Rates” below. In recent years, the FERC has pursued pro-competitive policies in its regulation of interstate natural gas pipelines; however, the FERC may or may not continue this approach in the future.

We have received authorization from the FERC to provide firm and interruptible transportation services, as well as parking and lending services, for our pipelines based on cost of service rates. Beginning in the mid-1980s, the FERC initiated a number of regulatory changes intended to create a more competitive environment in the natural gas marketplace. Among the most important of these changes were:

In November 2003, the FERC issued a series of orders adopting revised Standards of Conduct (Order No. 2004) that apply uniformly to interstate natural gas pipelines. These Standards of Conduct were designed to govern relationships between the pipeline and any energy affiliate, rather than governing conduct between the pipeline and its marketing affiliate. However, in 2006, Order No. 2004, as applied to natural gas pipelines, was vacated by a federal court, and the FERC issued an interim rule to address the relationship between natural gas pipelines and marketing affiliates. In October 2008, the FERC replaced the interim Standards of Conduct with Order 717 to be effective January 30, 2009. We have established the required policies and procedures to comply with the Standards of Conduct, and are subject to audit by the FERC to review compliance, policies and our training programs.

Our pipelines that interconnect with our LNG receiving terminals are interstate natural gas pipelines. We are required to obtain authorization from the FERC pursuant to Section 7 of the NGA to construct and operate these pipelines. The rates that we charge are subject to the FERC’s regulation under Section 4 of the NGA. Our interstate pipelines also are subject to the FERC’s open access requirements and the FERC’s Standards of Conduct. The FERC’s exercise of jurisdiction over interstate natural gas pipelines is substantially broader than its exercise of jurisdiction over LNG receiving terminals.

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Natural Gas Pipeline Safety

Louisiana and Texas administer federal pipeline safety standards under the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968, as amended (“NGPSA”), which requires certain pipelines to comply with safety standards in constructing and operating the pipelines and subjects the pipelines to regular inspections. Failure to comply with the NGPSA may result in the imposition of administrative, civil and criminal remedies.

The Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (“PSIA”), which is administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Pipeline Safety, governs the areas of testing, education, training and communication. The PSIA requires pipeline companies to perform extensive integrity tests on natural gas transmission pipelines that exist in high population density areas designated as “high consequence areas.” Pipeline companies are required to perform the integrity tests on a seven-year cycle. The risk ratings are based on numerous factors, including the population density in the geographic regions served by a particular pipeline, as well as the age and condition of the pipeline and its protective coating. Testing consists of hydrostatic testing, internal electronic testing, or direct assessment of the piping. In addition to the pipeline integrity tests, pipeline companies must implement a qualification program to make certain that employees are properly trained. In December 2003, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a final rule requiring pipeline operators to develop integrity management programs for gas transportation pipelines. The final rule requires pipeline operators to perform ongoing assessments of pipeline integrity; identify and characterize applicable threats to pipeline segments that could impact a high consequence area; improve data collection, integration and analysis; repair and remediate the pipeline, as necessary; and implement preventive and mitigation actions. This rule incorporates the requirements of the PSIA.

Energy Policy Act of 2005

The EPAct and the FERC’s policies promulgated thereunder contain numerous provisions relevant to the natural gas industry and to interstate pipelines. See “—LNG Receiving Terminal Governmental Regulation.”

Rates

Under the NGA, rates charged for the interstate transportation of natural gas must be just and reasonable and not unduly discriminatory or preferential. Amounts collected by the pipeline that the FERC finds unlawful are subject to refund with interest.

Natural Gas Pipeline Environmental Regulation

Our natural gas pipeline business is subject to the same federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment that are applicable to our LNG receiving terminals. See “—LNG Receiving Terminal Environmental Regulation” above.

LNG and Natural Gas Marketing Business

Our wholly-owned subsidiary, Cheniere Marketing, is developing a LNG and natural gas marketing business. Its principal asset is a TUA at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal. In April 2008, we commenced a cost savings program in connection with the downsizing of our natural gas marketing business activities, the nearing completion of significant construction activities for both the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal and Creole Trail Pipeline and the seeking of alternative arrangements for our time charter interests in two LNG vessels. We have unwound, terminated or assigned our commitments under our domestic natural gas agreements on terms we believe to be acceptable and have cancelled both of our LNG vessel charters.

In June 2008, we announced that we had entered into a domestic marketing agreement for the sale of LNG with J.P. Morgan Ventures Energy Corporation (“JPMorgan Ventures”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (“JPMorgan”). The agreement provides a framework under which Cheniere Marketing may

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offer to sell to JPMorgan Ventures all or a portion of the LNG from each cargo it acquires on delivery to the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal, and under which JPMorgan Ventures will utilize a portion of Cheniere Marketing’s TUA capacity for storage and regasification services related to the portion of the LNG cargo that JPMorgan Ventures purchases. JPMorgan Ventures has also acquired a “first look” right through March 31, 2009 under which JPMorgan Ventures will have the preemptive right to acquire LNG on the same pricing terms that Cheniere Marketing offers to its other customers. JPMorgan will guarantee all of J.P. Morgan Ventures’ obligations under this agreement, including any LNG purchases executed under this agreement. Subsequently, we have entered into similar framework agreements with various other counterparties for the sale of LNG.

Our LNG and natural gas marketing business segment is seeking to develop a portfolio of long-term, short-term, and spot LNG purchase agreements, and will focus on entering into business relationships such as the one entered into with JPMorgan for the domestic marketing of natural gas that is imported by Cheniere Marketing as LNG to the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal.

LNG and Natural Gas Marketing Competition

Our LNG purchase efforts compete for supplies of LNG with:

Our natural gas marketing efforts compete for sales of natural gas with a variety of competitors including:

LNG and Natural Gas Marketing Governmental Regulation

In 1992 and 1993, the FERC concluded that sellers of short-term or long-term natural gas supplies would not have market power over the sale for resale of natural gas. The FERC established light-handed regulation over sales for resale of natural gas and adopted regulations granting blanket certificates to allow entities selling natural gas to make interstate sales for resale at negotiated rates. In 2003, the FERC amended the blanket marketing certificates to require that all sellers adhere to a code of conduct with respect to natural gas sales. The code of conduct addresses such matters as natural gas withholding, manipulation of market prices, communication of accurate information and record retention.

The EPAct contains provisions intended to prohibit the manipulation of the natural gas markets and is applicable to our LNG and natural gas marketing business as well. See “—LNG Receiving Terminal Business Governmental Regulations.”

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The prices at which we will sell natural gas are not regulated, insofar as the interstate market is concerned and, for the most part, are not subject to state regulation. We are permitted to make sales of natural gas for resale in interstate commerce pursuant to a blanket marketing certificate automatically granted by the FERC. Our sales of natural gas will be affected by the availability, terms and cost of pipeline transportation. As noted above, under “—Natural Gas Pipeline Business—Natural Gas Pipeline Governmental Regulation,” the price and terms of access to pipeline transportation are subject to extensive federal and state regulation.

Oil and Gas Exploration, Development and Exploitation Activities

Our focus is primarily on the development and operation of LNG-related businesses. We have retained interests in the form of working interests, overriding royalty interests (a share of the hydrocarbons produced from an oil and gas property, free of the expense of production) and back-in working interests (whereby we retain a reversion right to a working interest in a well at payout but bear none of the cost of drilling the initial well). At December 31, 2008, we had interests in fifteen active wells, including three working interests and fifteen override interests. Three wells have both a working and override interest. We have an interest in three wells that are currently not producing. There are no plugging and abandonment costs expected in 2009. As a result of the lack of materiality to our consolidated financial statements taken as a whole, our oil and gas exploration, development and exploitation activities have been excluded as a separately disclosed operating segment.

Financial Information about Segments

For information about our segments’ revenues, profits and losses and total assets, see Note 24—“Business Segment Information” of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Subsidiaries

Our assets are generally held by or under our operating subsidiaries. We conduct most of our operations through these subsidiaries, including our operations relating to the development and operation of our LNG receiving terminal business, the development and operation of our pipeline business and our marketing business.

Employees

We had 208 full-time employees as of February 17, 2009.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

The following are some of the important factors that could affect our financial performance or could cause actual results to differ materially from estimates contained in our forward-looking statements. We may encounter risks in addition to those described below. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us, or that we currently deem to be immaterial, may also impair or adversely affect our business, results of operation, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.

The risk factors in this report are grouped into the following categories:

Risks Relating to Our Financial Matters

We have substantial indebtedness, which we will need to refinance in whole or in part at or prior to maturity.

As of December 31, 2008, we had $3.2 billion of indebtedness, consisting primarily of a $400.0 million term loan due 2012 (“2007 Term Loan”), $550.0 million of 7 ¹/4 % Senior Secured Notes due 2013 (the “2013 Notes”), $1,628.3 of 7 ¹/2% Senior Secured Notes due 2016 (the “2016 Notes” and collectively with the 2013 Notes, the “Senior Notes”), $325.0 million aggregate principal amount of Convertible Senior Unsecured Notes due 2012 (“Convertible Senior Unsecured Notes”) and $250.0 million in convertible term loans due 2018 (“2008 Convertible Loans”). We will need to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness. We may not be able to refinance our indebtedness as needed, on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

Our substantial indebtedness could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and prevent us from satisfying or refinancing our debt obligations.

Our substantial indebtedness could have important adverse consequences, including:

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Our substantial indebtedness and the restrictive covenants contained in our debt agreements may not allow us the flexibility that we need to operate our business in an effective and efficient manner and may prevent us from taking advantage of strategic and financial opportunities that would benefit our business.

Our ability to satisfy or refinance our debt obligations will depend upon our future operating performance. Prevailing economic conditions and financial, business and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, will also affect our ability to make payments on our debt obligations. We will need to seek to refinance all or a portion of our existing indebtedness on or before maturity, even if market conditions for such refinancings are adverse at the time. We may not be able to refinance any of our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

We have not been profitable historically, and we are currently experiencing negative operating cash flow. Our ability to achieve profitability and generate positive operating cash flow in the future is subject to significant uncertainty.

We had net losses of $356.5 million and $181.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively. In the future, we may incur operating losses and experience negative operating cash flow. We do not expect current cash inflows to be sufficient to fund our 2009 expenditures. We are dependent upon our existing cash resources.

Our existing level of cash resources, negative cash flow and limited ability to obtain additional financing could cause us to have inadequate liquidity and could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and prospects.

As of December 31, 2008, we had $102.2 million of cash and cash equivalents and $460.9 million of restricted cash and cash equivalents and U.S. Treasury securities, including $71.1 million of restricted cash to be used to complete construction and commissioning of the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal. Our ability to generate positive operating cash flow and achieve profitability, so as to enhance our liquidity position in the future, is subject to a number of risks, including those discussed below.

Our future liquidity may also be affected by the timing of construction financing availability in relation to the incurrence of construction costs and other outflows and by the anticipated timing of receipt of cash flow under TUAs and other sales of capacity in relation to the incurrence of projected project operating expenses. Many other factors (including factors beyond our control) could also result in a disparity between liquidity sources and cash needs, including factors such as construction delays and breaches of agreements.

Our substantial existing indebtedness, prevailing economic and market conditions, as well as other factors, have adversely affected the availability and cost of additional financing, which has adversely affected our liquidity, business, financial condition and prospects.

Our ability to generate needed amounts of cash is substantially dependent upon our TUAs with two third-party Sabine Pass LNG customers, and we will be materially and adversely affected if either customer fails to perform its TUA obligations for any reason.

Our future results and liquidity are dependent upon performance by Chevron and Total, each of which has entered into a TUA with Sabine Pass LNG and agreed to pay us approximately $125 million annually commencing during 2009. We are dependent on each customer’s continued willingness and ability to perform its obligations under its TUA. We are also exposed to the credit risk of the guarantors of these customers’ obligations under their TUAs in the event that we must seek recourse under a guaranty. If any customer fails to perform its obligations under its TUA, our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects could be materially adversely affected, even if we were ultimately successful in seeking damages from that customer or its guarantor for a breach of the TUA.

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Each customer’s TUA for capacity at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal is subject to termination under certain circumstances.

The long-term TUAs with each of Total and Chevron contain various termination rights. For example, each customer may terminate its TUA if the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal experiences a force majeure delay for longer than 18 months, fails to redeliver a specified amount of natural gas in accordance with the customer’s redelivery nominations or fails to accept and unload a specified number of the customer’s proposed LNG cargoes. We may not be able to replace these TUAs on desirable terms, or at all, if they are terminated.

Our ability to generate needed amounts of cash is also substantially dependent upon our ability to commercially exploit the capacity at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal that we have reserved for our own account.

Our ability to generate positive operating cash flow and achieve profitability in the future is also significantly dependent upon our ability to commercially exploit the TUA capacity that our subsidiary, Cheniere Marketing, LLC (“Cheniere Marketing”) has reserved at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal. As discussed below under “—Risks Relating to Our LNG and Natural Gas Marketing Business—We may not be able to commercially exploit the capacity we have reserved at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal”, there are significant risks attendant to Cheniere Marketing’s future ability to generate operating cash flow. Failure by Cheniere Marketing to succeed in commercially exploiting its reserved TUA capacity at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Our ability to develop our planned LNG receiving terminals and pipelines and to pursue our other business plans is contingent on our ability to obtain funding. If we are unable to do so, we may be unable to implement or complete our business plan, and our business may ultimately be unsuccessful.

We will need substantially more financing to complete all of our proposed LNG receiving terminals and natural gas pipelines. Prevailing economic and market conditions, as well as other factors, have caused us to defer or limit expenditures we might otherwise have made in developing our business. Such deferrals or limitations in the development of our business could continue and could adversely affect our ability to pursue our business strategy, our results of operations, our financial condition and our prospects. To fund these development projects, we plan to pursue a variety of sources of funding, including some or all of the following:

Our ability to obtain these or other types of financing will depend, in part, on factors beyond our control, such as the status of various debt and equity markets at the time financing is sought and such markets’ view of our industry and prospects at such time. In particular, currently tight lending conditions may make it more time consuming and expensive for us to obtain financing, if we can obtain financing at all. Accordingly, we may not be able to obtain financing on terms that are acceptable to us, if at all, even if our development projects could otherwise proceed on schedule. In addition, our ability to obtain some types of financing may be dependent upon our ability to obtain other types of financing. For example, project-level debt financing is typically contingent upon a significant equity capital contribution from the project sponsor. As a result, even if we are able to identify potential project-level lenders, we may still have to obtain another form of external financing for us to fund an equity capital contribution to the project subsidiary. Moreover, any future project-level debt financing for additional LNG receiving terminals or pipelines would likely be conditioned upon our prior receipt of commitments from third parties to pay for the projected capacity of the terminals or pipelines, as well as our achievement of additional milestones. A failure to obtain financing at any point in the development process of any of our projects could cause us to delay or fail to complete our business plan, which could cause our business to be unsuccessful.

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Even if we are able to obtain financing, the terms required may adversely affect our business.

In order to obtain many types of financing, we may have to accept terms that are disadvantageous to us or that may have an adverse impact on our current or future business, operations or financial condition. For example:

Risks Relating to Our LNG Receiving Terminal Business

We may not complete in a timely and cost-effective manner, or at all, the remaining construction and commissioning of the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal or the construction and commissioning of our other planned LNG receiving terminals.

Factors that could adversely affect our planned construction, completion and commissioning of our existing and planned LNG receiving terminals include:

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These factors could also adversely affect the timing or cost of completing the remaining 1.4 Bcf/d of sendout capacity and 6.7 Bcf of storage capacity that remained under construction at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal as of December 31, 2008

Cost overruns and delays in the completion of the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal or in the construction of our proposed LNG receiving terminals, as well as difficulties in obtaining funding for additional costs, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.

We have experienced cost overruns of the construction, cool down, commissioning and completion of the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal. Our ultimate construction costs for Sabine Pass or other proposed LNG receiving terminals and pipelines may be significantly higher than our current estimates as a result of additional cost overruns, change orders under existing or future construction contracts, increased component and material costs, escalating labor costs, limited availability of labor, delays in construction and increased spending to maintain construction schedules.

Furthermore, in order to cover future increased construction costs, we would likely need to obtain additional funding. If we fail to obtain sufficient funding, our business plan could fail. Our ability to obtain debt or equity financing that may be needed to provide additional funding to cover increased construction costs will depend, in part, on factors beyond our control, such as the status of various capital and industry markets at the time financing is sought. Accordingly, we may not be able to obtain financing on terms that are acceptable to us, if at all. Even if we are able to obtain financing, we may have to accept terms that are disadvantageous to us or that may have a material adverse effect on our current or future business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

We are dependent on contractors for the successful completion of our LNG receiving terminals.

We have limited experience constructing LNG receiving terminals. Timely and cost-effective completion of the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal and our other proposed LNG receiving terminals in compliance with agreed specifications is central to our business strategy and is highly dependent on our existing or future contractors’ performance under their agreements with us. Our contractors’ ability to perform successfully under their contracts is dependent on a number of factors, including their ability to:

Although some of our existing EPC contracts provide for liquidated damages, if the contractor fails to perform in the manner required with respect to certain of its obligations, the events that trigger a requirement to pay liquidated damages may delay the completion or impair the operation of the affected facility, and any

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liquidated damages that we receive may not be sufficient to cover the damages that we suffer as a result of any such delay or impairment. In addition, each contractor’s liability for liquidated damages is subject to a cap. Each of our material agreements with contractors is also subject to termination by the contractor prior to completion of construction under certain circumstances, including extended delays (of 100 days or more) caused by force majeure events and our insolvency, breach of material obligations not subject to adjustment by change order, or failure to pay undisputed amounts.

Furthermore, disagreements with our contractors about different elements of the construction process could lead to the assertion of rights and remedies under their contracts and increase the cost of the project or result in a contractor’s unwillingness to perform further work on the project. If any contractor is unable or unwilling to perform according to the negotiated terms and timetable of its respective agreement for any reason or terminates its agreement, we would be required to engage a substitute contractor. This would likely result in significant project delays and increased costs.

To commission and test our LNG receiving terminals or in order to maintain their cryogenic readiness, we may need to purchase and process LNG. The cost of such LNG may exceed our estimates, and we may not be able to acquire it at an affordable price or at all. Furthermore, even if we are able to acquire LNG, we may not be able to resell the regasified LNG for a profit or at all.

LNG storage tanks and other equipment at our LNG receiving terminals must undergo a commissioning and testing process before commencement of operations. The commissioning process requires a substantial quantity of LNG as well as access to adequate LNG vessels to deliver the LNG. As of December 31, 2008, we had obtained three cargoes of LNG for commissioning at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal. Our construction cost estimates include amounts to cover our estimated net costs of acquiring the LNG necessary to complete the commissioning and testing process at our LNG receiving terminals. Our actual cost to obtain LNG necessary for the commissioning and testing process could exceed our estimates, and the overrun could be significant.

Risks associated with acquiring LNG include the following:

Our failure to obtain LNG, LNG vessels, or both, on economical terms, or our inability to finance the purchase of LNG for commissioning or for maintenance of cryogenic readiness to provide services under our TUAs, could impede completion of commissioning and testing or provide our TUA customers with the opportunity to interrupt or terminate their payment under their TUAs. Any of these occurrences could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

We may be required to purchase natural gas to provide fuel at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal, which would increase operating costs and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Sabine Pass LNG’s three TUAs provide for an in-kind deduction of 2% of the LNG delivered to the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal, which we will use primarily as fuel for revaporization and self-generated power and to cover natural gas unavoidably lost at the facility. There is a risk that this 2% in-kind deduction will be insufficient for these needs and that we will have to purchase additional natural gas from third parties. We will bear the cost and risk of changing prices for any such fuel.

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We may not be able to enter into satisfactory TUAs with third-party customers for regasification capacity at our proposed LNG receiving terminals, as we have sought to do in order to implement and complete our business plan. We may change our business strategy as to how and when we market LNG receiving terminal capacity.

Our current business strategy calls for us to enter into long-term TUAs for a portion of the regasification capacity at our proposed LNG receiving terminals, including a commitment to pay capacity reservation fees. The portion of our total regasification capacity that we plan to commit under such long-term TUAs has changed in the past and may change in the future for various reasons, including responding to market factors or perceived opportunities that we believe may be available to us. Our ability to obtain financing for a proposed LNG receiving facility may be contingent on our ability to enter into commercial agreements in advance of the commencement of construction. To date, we have not entered into any third-party agreements for either of our proposed LNG receiving terminals.

We may experience difficulty attracting additional customers because we are a small, developing company with no operating history in the LNG business. In order to succeed, we must convince additional potential customers, among other things, that we will be able to secure adequate financing for the construction of the proposed LNG receiving terminals and related natural gas pipelines that we are developing and that these projects will be approved by appropriate governmental agencies.

We may also change our business strategy due to our inability to enter into agreements with additional customers or based on our views regarding future prices, demand and supply of natural gas and regasification capacity. If our efforts to market LNG receiving terminal and related pipeline capacity are not successful, our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects could be materially adversely affected.

Failure to obtain and maintain approvals and permits from governmental and regulatory agencies with respect to the development and operation of our LNG receiving terminals could impede completion or operation and could have a material adverse effect on us.

The design, construction and operation of our LNG receiving terminals is a highly regulated activity. The FERC’s approval under Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act of 1938, or the NGA, as well as several other material governmental and regulatory approvals and permits, are required in order to construct and operate an LNG receiving terminal. Although we have obtained all of the necessary authorizations to construct and operate the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal, such authorizations are subject to ongoing conditions imposed by regulatory agencies. Failure to obtain and maintain any of these approvals and permits could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Hurricanes or other disasters could adversely affect us.

In August and September of 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita damaged coastal and inland areas located in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Construction at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal site was temporarily suspended in connection with Hurricane Katrina, as a precautionary measure. Approximately three weeks after the occurrence of Hurricane Katrina, the terminal site was again secured and evacuated in anticipation of Hurricane Rita, the eye of which made landfall to the east of the site. As a result of these 2005 storms and related matters, the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal experienced construction delays and increased costs. In September 2008, Hurricane Ike struck the Texas and Louisiana coast and we experienced damage at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal.

Future storms and related storm activity and collateral effects, or other disasters such as explosions, fires, floods or accidents, could result in damage to, delays or cost increases in construction of, or interruption of operations at, our LNG receiving terminals or related infrastructure.

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After our LNG receiving terminals are placed in service, their businesses will involve significant operational risks.

Our LNG receiving terminals will face risks associated with operating the facilities. These risks will include, but will not be limited to, the following:

Risks Relating to Our Natural Gas Pipeline Business

Expanding our business by constructing additional pipelines subjects us to risks.

The construction of a new pipeline involves numerous regulatory, environmental, political and legal uncertainties beyond our control and requires the expenditure of significant amounts of capital that we will be required to finance through borrowings, through the issuance of additional equity or from operating cash flow. If we undertake these projects, they may not be completed on schedule, at the budgeted cost or at all. Whenever we build a new pipeline, the construction may occur over an extended period of time, and we will not receive any revenues until the pipeline has been completed and customers pay for transportation service on the pipeline. Moreover, we may construct pipelines to capture anticipated future growth in a region in which such growth does not materialize. As a result, our pipelines may not be able to attract enough throughput to achieve our expected investment return, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. Our ability to obtain financing for a pipeline construction project may depend upon the level of LNG import activity in the areas proposed to be served by the project as well as our ability to obtain commitments from LNG suppliers and other customers to utilize the newly constructed pipeline.

Our existing and proposed pipelines will be dependent upon a few potential customers, and our pipeline business could be materially and adversely affected if we lost any one of those customers.

We do not currently have any third-party, firm transportation customers for our existing or proposed pipelines. Failure to obtain any third-party, firm transportation customers could have a material adverse impact on our business.

Failure to obtain and maintain approvals and permits from governmental and regulatory agencies with respect to the development and operation of our natural gas pipelines would have a detrimental effect on us and our pipeline projects.

The design, construction and operation of natural gas pipelines and the transportation of natural gas are all highly regulated activities. FERC approval under Section 7 of the NGA, as well as several other material state governmental and regulatory approvals and permits, are required in order to construct and operate a pipeline. We must also obtain several other material governmental and regulatory approvals and permits in order to construct and operate pipelines, including several under the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. We have no control over the timing of the review and approval process nor can we predict the outcome of the process. We do not know whether or when any such approvals or permits can be obtained, or whether or not any third parties will attempt to interfere with our ability to obtain and maintain such permits or approvals. If we are unable to obtain and maintain the

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necessary approvals and permits, we may not be able to recover our investment in the projects. Failure to obtain and maintain any of these approvals and permits could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Our existing and proposed natural gas pipelines, including their FERC gas tariffs, are subject to FERC regulation.

Our FERC tariffs contain pro forma transportation agreements, which must be filed and approved by FERC. Before we enter into a transportation agreement with a shipper that contains a term that materially deviates from our tariff, we must seek FERC approval. The FERC may approve the material deviation in the transportation agreement; however, in that case, the materially deviating terms must be made available to our other similarly-situated customers. If we fail to seek FERC approval of a transportation agreement that materially deviates from our tariff, or if FERC audits our contracts and finds deviations that appear to be unduly discriminatory, FERC could conduct a formal enforcement investigation, resulting in serious penalties and/or onerous ongoing compliance obligations.

Should we fail to comply with all applicable FERC-administered statutes, rules, regulations and orders, we could be subject to substantial penalties and fines. Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the FERC has civil penalty authority under the NGA to impose penalties for current violations of up to $1 million per day for each violation.

The FERC could change its current ratemaking policies, and those changes could have adverse effects on our proposed pipelines.

Any reduction in the capacity of, or the allocations to, interconnecting, third-party pipelines could cause a reduction of volumes transported in our existing and proposed pipelines, which would adversely affect our revenues and cash flow.

We will be dependent upon third-party pipelines and other facilities to provide delivery options to and from our pipelines. If any pipeline connection were to become unavailable for volumes of natural gas due to repairs, damage to the facility, lack of capacity or any other reason, our ability to continue shipping natural gas to end markets could be restricted, thereby reducing our revenues. Any permanent interruption at any key pipeline interconnect which caused a material reduction in volumes transported on our pipelines could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our pipeline business could be materially adversely affected if we lose the right to situate our pipelines on property owned by third parties.

We do not anticipate owning the land on which our proposed pipelines will be constructed, and we are subject to the possibility of increased costs to obtain and retain necessary land use. We anticipate obtaining the right to construct and operate our pipelines on land owned by third parties for a period of time. If we were to lose these rights or be required to relocate our pipelines, our business could be materially adversely affected.

Pipeline safety integrity programs and repairs may impose significant costs and liabilities on us.

The Federal Office of Pipeline Safety has issued a final rule requiring pipeline operators to develop integrity management programs to comprehensively evaluate certain areas along their pipelines and to take additional measures to protect pipeline segments located in what the rule refers to as “high consequence areas” where a leak or rupture could potentially do the most harm. The final rule requires operators to:

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We will be required to initiate pipeline integrity testing programs that are intended to assess pipeline integrity. The rule, or an increase in public expectations for pipeline safety, may require additional reporting and more frequent inspection or testing of our pipeline facilities. Any repair, remediation, preventative or mitigating actions may require significant capital and operating expenditures. Should we fail to comply with the Office of Pipeline Safety’s rules and related regulations and orders, we could be subject to penalties and fines.

Risks Relating to Our LNG and Natural Gas Marketing Business

We may be unable to commercially exploit the capacity at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal that we have reserved for our own account.

The success of our LNG and natural gas marketing business will be significantly dependent upon our ability to commercially exploit the TUA capacity that Cheniere Marketing has reserved at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal. That, in turn, is subject to substantial risks, including the following:

Cheniere Marketing has a limited operating history, limited capital, no credit rating and an unproven business strategy. In addition, we have a non-investment grade corporate rating of CCC+ from Standard and Poor’s, which limits our ability to enhance the creditworthiness of Cheniere Marketing. These factors create financial obstacles and exacerbate the risk that Cheniere Marketing will not be able to enter into commercial arrangements with third parties to commercially exploit its capacity at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal on commercially advantageous terms or at all.

In pursuing each aspect of our plan to commercially exploit Cheniere Marketing’s TUA capacity at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal, we will encounter competition, including competition from major energy companies and other competitors with significantly greater resources.

Any or all of these factors, as well as risk factors described elsewhere and other risk factors that we may not be able to anticipate, control or mitigate, could have a material adverse effect on our ability to commercially exploit Cheniere Marketing’s TUA capacity at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal, which in turn could materially and adversely affect the business, results of operations, financial condition, prospects and liquidity.

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We are in the early stages of developing our LNG and natural gas marketing business.

We have recently begun developing our LNG and natural gas marketing business. To date, the business has been unprofitable and has a limited operating history upon which to evaluate our business strategy or the future prospects of the business. Since inception, our LNG and natural gas marketing business has had net operating losses. The ability of our LNG and natural gas marketing business to generate revenues in the future will depend upon whether we can successfully develop and implement our business strategy and make the transition from a development stage business to an operating business. We may encounter many expenses, delays, problems and difficulties that we have not anticipated and for which we have not planned in developing and operating our LNG and natural gas marketing business.

Our use of hedging arrangements may adversely affect our future results of operations or liquidity.

To reduce our exposure to fluctuations in the price, volume, timing, location, quality and credit risk associated with the marketing of LNG and natural gas, we use futures, swaps and option contracts traded or cleared on NYMEX and over-the-counter options and swaps with other natural gas merchants and financial institutions. Hedging arrangements would expose us to risk of financial loss in some circumstances, including when:

Our hedging arrangements may also limit the benefit that we would receive from increases in the prices for natural gas. The use of derivatives also may require the posting of cash collateral with counterparties, which can impact working capital when commodity prices change.

The limited operating history of, and limited capital resources and credit available to, our LNG and natural gas marketing business limit our ability to develop that business.

We have limited the amount of capital available to our LNG and natural gas marketing business. The business currently has limited access to third-party sources of financing. Other investment-grade marketing companies have greater financial, technical and marketing resources and access to LNG supply than we do. Our LNG and natural gas marketing business is in its early stages of development and may not generate sufficient revenues and cash flows to cover the significant fixed costs of the business. The limited capital and credit available to our LNG and natural gas marketing business, along with a lack of cash flows, may inhibit our ability to develop that business.

Our exposure to the performance and credit risks of counterparties under agreements may adversely affect our results of operations, liquidity and access to financing.

Our LNG and natural gas marketing business involves our entering into various purchase and sale, hedging, and other transactions with numerous third parties (commonly referred to as “counterparties”). In such arrangements, we are exposed to the performance and credit risks of our counterparties, including the risk that one or more counterparties fails to perform its obligation to make deliveries of commodities and/or to make payments. These risks may increase during periods of commodity price volatility. Defaults by suppliers and other counterparties may adversely affect our results of operations, liquidity and access to financing.

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Risks Relating to Our LNG Businesses in General

Failure of imported LNG to be a competitive source of energy for North American markets could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

The success of our LNG receiving terminal business, our natural gas pipeline business and our LNG and natural gas marketing business (collectively, our “LNG businesses”), is primarily dependent upon LNG being a competitive source of energy in North America.

In North America, due mainly to a historically abundant supply of natural gas, imported LNG has not historically been a major energy source. Our business plan is based, in part, on the belief that LNG can be produced and delivered at a lower cost than the cost to produce some domestic supplies of natural gas, or other alternative energy sources. Through the use of improved exploration technologies, additional sources of natural gas may be discovered in North America, which could further increase the available supply of natural gas and could result in natural gas being available at a lower cost than imported LNG. In addition to natural gas, LNG also competes in North America with other sources of energy, including coal, oil, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind and solar energy.

Other continents have a longer history of importing LNG and, due to their geographic proximity to LNG producers and limited pipeline access to natural gas supplies, may be willing and able to pay more for LNG, thereby reducing or eliminating the supply of LNG available in North American markets. Current and futures prices for natural gas in markets that compete with North America have been higher than prices for natural gas in North America, which has adversely affected the volume of LNG imports into North America. If LNG deliveries to North America continue to be constrained due to stronger demand from these competing markets, our ability and the ability of existing and prospective third-party TUA customers to import LNG into North America on a profitable basis may be adversely affected.

Political instability in foreign countries that have supplies of natural gas, or strained relations between such countries and the U.S., may also impede the willingness or ability of LNG suppliers and merchants in such countries to export LNG to the U.S. Furthermore, some foreign suppliers of LNG may have economic or other reasons to direct their LNG to non-U.S. markets or to competitors’ LNG receiving terminals in the U.S.

As a result of these and other factors, LNG may not be a competitive source of energy in North America. The failure of LNG to be a competitive supply alternative to domestic natural gas, oil and other alternatives could adversely affect our ability to enter into additional TUAs with customers and could also impede the ability to import LNG into North America on a commercial basis of us and our TUA customers, which could inhibit our growth and cause us operating losses. Any significant impediment to the ability to import LNG into the United States generally or to our LNG receiving terminals specifically could have a material adverse effect on us, on our third-party LNG receiving terminal customers, and on our LNG businesses, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Cyclical or other changes in the demand for LNG regasification capacity may adversely affect our LNG businesses and the performance of our TUA customers, and could reduce our operating revenues and may cause us operating losses.

The economics of our LNG businesses could be subject to cyclical swings, reflecting alternating periods of under-supply and over-supply of LNG importation capacity and available natural gas, principally due to the combined impact of several factors, including:

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These factors could materially adversely affect our ability, and the ability of current and prospective TUA customers, to procure supplies of LNG to be imported into North America and to procure customers for regasified LNG at economical prices, or at all.

Insufficient development of additional LNG liquefaction capacity worldwide could adversely affect our LNG businesses and the performance of our TUA customers, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.

Commercial development of an LNG liquefaction facility takes a number of years and requires substantial capital investment. Many factors could negatively affect continued development of LNG liquefaction facilities, including:

There may be shortages of LNG vessels worldwide, which could adversely affect our LNG businesses and the performance of our TUA customers, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.

The construction and delivery of LNG vessels requires significant capital and long construction lead times, and the availability of the vessels could be delayed to the detriment of our LNG businesses and our TUA customers because of:

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Decreases in the demand for and price of natural gas could lead to reduced development of LNG projects worldwide, which could adversely affect our LNG businesses and the performance of our TUA customers, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.

The development of domestic LNG receiving terminals and LNG projects generally is based on assumptions about the future price of natural gas and the availability of imported LNG. Natural gas prices have been, and are likely to continue to be, volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in response to one or more of the following factors:

Adverse trends or developments affecting any of these factors could result in decreases in the price of natural gas, leading to reduced development of LNG projects worldwide. Such reductions could adversely affect our LNG businesses and the performance of our TUA customers, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.

Our LNG businesses face competition, including competing LNG receiving terminals and related pipelines from competitors with far greater resources.

Many competing companies have secured access to, or are pursuing development or acquisition of, LNG import infrastructure to serve the U.S. natural gas market. Some industry analysts have predicted substantial excess LNG receiving capacity in North America for at least several years based on terminals currently in operation or under construction. Competitors faced by our LNG businesses in the U.S. include major energy corporations (e.g., BG, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Dow Chemical). In addition, other competitors have developed or reopened additional LNG receiving terminals in Europe, Asia and other markets, which also compete with our existing and proposed LNG facilities. Almost all of these competitors have longer operating histories, more development experience, greater name recognition, larger staffs and substantially greater financial, technical and marketing resources and access to LNG supply than we do. The superior resources that these competitors have available for deployment could allow them to compete successfully against our LNG businesses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.

Terrorist attacks or military campaigns may adversely impact our LNG businesses.

A terrorist incident involving an LNG facility or LNG carrier may result in delays in, or cancellation of, construction of new LNG facilities, including our proposed LNG receiving terminals and related natural gas

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pipelines, which would increase our costs and decrease our cash flows. A terrorist incident may also result in temporary or permanent closure of existing LNG facilities, which could increase our costs and decrease our cash flows, depending on the duration of the closure. Operations at our LNG receiving terminals could also become subject to increased governmental scrutiny that may result in additional security measures at a significant incremental cost to us. In addition, the threat of terrorism and the impact of military campaigns may lead to continued volatility in prices for natural gas that could adversely affect our LNG businesses.

Risks Relating to Our Business in General

Our initiatives to pursue downstream and upstream opportunities as part of our overall energy business strategy may not be successful and, even if successful, could expose us to greater and unanticipated risks.

We may not be successful in our efforts to pursue any or all of our downstream opportunities such as natural gas pipeline development or natural gas marketing, or in our efforts to pursue any or all of our upstream opportunities such as securing foreign LNG supply arrangements. If we are successful in pursuing one or more of these downstream or upstream opportunities, we will likely incur greater risks than we expect to incur in our LNG receiving terminal business, and some of those risks we will not be able to anticipate.

We are subject to significant operating hazards and uninsured risks, one or more of which may create significant liabilities and losses for us.

The construction and operation of our proposed LNG receiving terminals and pipelines, as well as the conduct of our oil and gas exploration and production business, are subject to inherent risks associated with these types of operations, including explosions, pollution, release of toxic substances, fires, hurricanes and adverse weather conditions, and other hazards, each of which could result in significant delays in commencement or interruptions of operations and/or in damage to or destruction of our facilities or damage to persons and property. In addition, our operations and the facilities and vessels of third parties on which our operations are dependent face possible risks associated with acts of aggression or terrorism.

We do not, nor do we intend to, maintain insurance against all of these risks and losses. We may not be able to maintain desired or required insurance in the future at rates that we consider reasonable. The occurrence of a significant event not fully insured or indemnified against could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.

Existing and future environmental and similar laws and regulations could result in increased compliance costs or additional operating costs and restrictions.

Our business is and will be subject to extensive federal, state and local laws and regulations that control, among other things, discharges to air and water; the handling, storage and disposal of hazardous chemicals, hazardous waste, and petroleum products; and remediation associated with the release of hazardous substances. Many of these laws and regulations, such as the CAA, the Oil Pollution Act, the CWA, and the RCRA, and analogous state laws and regulations, restrict or prohibit the types, quantities and concentration of substances that can be released into the environment in connection with the construction and operation of our LNG receiving terminals and require us to maintain permits and provide governmental authorities with access to our facilities for inspection and reports related to our compliance. Violation of these laws and regulations could lead to substantial fines and penalties or to capital expenditures related to pollution control equipment that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects. CERCLA and similar state laws impose liability, without regard to fault or the lawfulness of the original conduct, for the release of certain types or quantities of hazardous substances into the environment. As the owner and operator of an LNG receiving terminal and pipeline, we could be liable for the costs of cleaning up hazardous substances released into the environment and for damage to natural resources.

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Existing environmental laws and regulations may be revised or reinterpreted or new laws and regulations may be adopted or become applicable to us. For example, the adoption of frequently proposed legislation implementing a carbon tax on energy sources that emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, may have a material adverse effect on the ability of our customers (i) to import LNG, if imposed on them as importers of potential emission sources, or (ii) to sell regasified LNG, if imposed on them or their customers as natural gas suppliers or consumers. In addition, as we consume retainage gas at our LNG receiving terminal, this carbon tax may also be imposed on us directly. Other future legislation and regulations, such as those relating to the transportation and security of LNG imported to our LNG receiving terminal through the Sabine Pass Channel, could cause additional expenditures, restrictions and delays in our business and to our planned construction, the extent of which cannot be predicted and which may require us to limit substantially, delay or cease operations in some circumstances. Revised, reinterpreted or additional laws and regulations that result in increased compliance costs or additional operating costs and restrictions could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.

We may experience increased labor costs, and the unavailability of skilled workers or our failure to attract and retain key personnel could adversely affect us.

We are dependent upon the available labor pool of skilled employees. We compete with other energy companies and other employers to attract and retain qualified personnel with the technical skills and experience required to construct our proposed LNG receiving terminals and pipelines and to provide our customers with the highest quality service. A shortage in the labor pool of skilled workers or other general inflationary pressures or changes in applicable laws and regulations could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain personnel and could require an increase in the wage and benefits packages that we offer, thereby increasing our operating costs. For example, in the aftermaths of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Bechtel and certain subcontractors temporarily experienced a shortage of available skilled labor necessary to meet the requirements of the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal construction plan. As a result, we agreed to change orders with Bechtel concerning additional activities and expenditures to mitigate the hurricanes’ effects on the construction of the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal. Any increase in our operating costs could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

We depend on our executive officers for various activities. We do not maintain key person life insurance policies on any of our personnel. Although we have arrangements relating to compensation and benefits with certain of our executive officers, we do not have any employment contracts or other agreements with key personnel binding them to provide services for any particular term. The loss of the services of any of these individuals could seriously harm us.

Our lack of diversification could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Substantially all of our anticipated revenue in 2009 will be dependent upon one asset, the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal. Due to our lack of asset and geographic diversification, an adverse development at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal or in the LNG industry would have a significantly greater impact on our financial condition and results of operations than if we maintained more diverse assets and operating areas.

Some of our economic value is derived from our ownership of a minority interest in an entity over which we exercise no day-to-day control.

We own a 30% limited partner interest in Freeport LNG. Some of our value is attributable to this investment. In this report, we may use the words “our,” “we” or “us” in describing this investment or its assets and operations; however, we do not exercise control over Freeport LNG. The management team of Freeport LNG could make business decisions without our consent that could impair the economic value of our investment in Freeport LNG. Any such diminution in the value of our investment could have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

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We may have to take actions that are disruptive to our business strategy to avoid registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

The Investment Company Act of 1940, or Investment Company Act, requires registration for companies that are engaged primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities. Registration as an investment company would subject us to restrictions that are inconsistent with our fundamental business strategy.

A company may be deemed to be an investment company if it owns investment securities with a value exceeding 40% of the value of its total assets (excluding government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis, unless an exemption or safe harbor applies. Securities issued by companies other than majority-owned subsidiaries are generally counted as investment securities for purposes of the Investment Company Act. We own a minority equity interest in Freeport LNG, which could be counted as an investment security. We generally plan to invest our liquid assets in commercial paper or other assets that may be considered investment securities in order to achieve higher yields from our available funds than investments in government securities and money market or similar cash investments would provide. Based on our board of directors’ determination of the value of our subsidiaries, we estimate that less than 40% of our assets consist of investment securities. However, in the event we acquire additional investment securities in the future, or if the value of our interests in companies that we do not control were to increase relative to the value of our controlled subsidiaries, we might be required to invest some portion of our liquid assets in government securities or cash items that yield lower returns than our proposed investments, or, in the alternative, we might be required to divest some of our non-controlled business interests, or take other action, in order to avoid being classified as an investment company.

We may engage in operations or make substantial commitments and investments outside the United States, which would expose us to political, governmental and economic instability and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.

Conducting operations or making commitments and investments outside of the United States will cause us to be affected by economic, political and governmental conditions in the countries where we engage in business. Any disruption caused by these factors could harm our business. Risks associated with operations, commitments and investments outside of the United States include risks of:

Because our reporting currency is the United States dollar, any of our operations conducted outside the United States would face additional risks of fluctuating currency values and exchange rates, hard currency shortages and controls on currency exchange. We would be subject to the impact of foreign currency fluctuations and exchange rate changes on our reporting for results from those operations in our financial statements.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We may in the future be involved as a party to various legal proceedings, which are incidental to the ordinary course of business. We regularly analyze current information and, as necessary, provide accruals for probable liabilities on the eventual disposition of these matters. In the opinion of management, as of December 31, 2008, there were no threatened or pending legal matters that would have a material impact on our consolidated results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS

None.

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PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET PRICE FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Our common stock has traded on the NYSE Alternext US (formerly the American Stock Exchange) under the symbol LNG since March 24, 2003. The table below presents the high and low daily closing sales prices of the common stock, as reported by the NYSE Alternext US, for each quarter during 2007 and 2008.

As of February 17, 2009, we had 52 million shares of common stock outstanding held by approximately 1,021 record owners.

We have never paid a cash dividend on our common stock. We currently intend to retain earnings to finance the growth and development of our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on the common stock in the foreseeable future. Any future change in our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our board of directors in light of our financial condition, capital requirements, earnings, prospects and any restrictions under any financing agreements, as well as other factors the board of directors deems relevant.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

During the three months ended December 31, 2008, we purchased 143,220 shares of restricted stock at an average cash price of $2.86 per share related to restricted stock vested in December 2008 that was returned to the Company by employees to cover taxes.

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Total Stockholder Return

The following graph compares the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock against the S&P Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Index, and the Russell 2000 Index for the five years ending December 31, 2008. The graph was constructed on the assumption that $100 was invested in our common stock, the S&P Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Index and the Russell 2000 Index on December 31, 2003 and that any dividends were fully reinvested.

The “Total Stockholder Return” information contained in this Item 5 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is not deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C under the Exchange Act or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, and will not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, except to the extent we specifically incorporate it by reference into such a filing.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

Selected financial data set forth below are derived from our audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the periods indicated. The financial data should be read in conjunction with Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and our Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto included elsewhere in this report.

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATION

Introduction

The following discussion and analysis presents management’s view of our business, financial condition and overall performance and should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” This information is intended to provide investors with an understanding of our past performance, current financial condition and outlook for the future. Our discussion and analysis include the following subjects:

Overview of Business

We operate three segments: LNG receiving terminal business, natural gas pipeline business, and LNG and natural gas marketing business. To a limited extent, we continue to be engaged in oil and natural gas exploration, development and exploitation activities in the Gulf of Mexico.

LNG Receiving Terminal Business

We have focused our LNG receiving terminal development efforts on the following three projects: the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal in western Cameron Parish, Louisiana on the Sabine Pass Channel; the

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Corpus Christi LNG receiving terminal near Corpus Christi, Texas; and the Creole Trail LNG receiving terminal at the mouth of the Calcasieu Channel in central Cameron Parish, Louisiana. In addition, we own a 30% interest in Freeport LNG Development, L.P. (“Freeport LNG”) which has constructed an LNG receiving terminal located on Quintana Island near Freeport, Texas.

Our ownership interest in the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal is held through Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. (“Cheniere Partners”), a Delaware limited partnership, in which we hold an approximate 90.6% interest as a result of the completion of a public offering of common units in Cheniere Partners. Cheniere Partners owns a 100% interest in Sabine Pass LNG, L.P. (“Sabine Pass LNG”), which is constructing the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal. We currently own 100% interests in the proposed Corpus Christi and Creole Trail LNG receiving terminals. The three LNG receiving terminals under development by us have an aggregate designed regasification capacity of approximately 10.1 Bcf/d, subject to expansion.

Construction of the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal commenced in March 2005, and we achieved commercial operability in September 2008 with initial sendout capacity of approximately 2.6 Bcf/d and storage capacity of approximately 10.1 Bcf. We anticipate achieving full operability of the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal with a total sendout capacity of approximately 4.0 Bcf/d and total storage capacity of approximately 16.8 Bcf during the third quarter of 2009. Sabine Pass LNG has entered into long-term terminal use agreements (“TUAs”) with Total LNG USA, Inc. (“Total”), Chevron U.S.A., Inc. (“Chevron”) and Cheniere Marketing, LLC (“Cheniere Marketing”), our wholly-owned subsidiary formerly known as Cheniere Marketing, Inc., for the entire 4.0 Bcf/d of regasification capacity that will be available at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal upon completion of construction.

We will contemplate making final investment decisions to complete construction of the Corpus Christi LNG receiving terminal and to commence construction of the Creole Trail LNG receiving terminal upon, among other things, entering into acceptable commercial and financing arrangements.

Natural Gas Pipeline Business

We are developing natural gas pipelines to provide access to North American natural gas markets from our LNG receiving terminals, and to serve growing natural gas markets with diverse new sources of natural gas supplies. We have focused our natural gas pipeline development efforts on the following three projects: the Creole Trail Pipeline originating at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal to points of interconnection with multiple interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines throughout southern Louisiana; the Corpus Christi Pipeline originating at the Corpus Christi LNG receiving terminal to points of interconnection with interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines in South Texas; and the Cheniere Southern Trail Pipeline originating in southern Louisiana to a point of interconnection with the Florida Gas Transmission Pipeline in western Florida. We have also purchased 100% interest in the Frontera Pipeline project, a combined transportation and storage project designed to serve industrial and power generation customers in northeastern Mexico (the “Burgos Hub Project”).

As of December 31, 2008, Phase 1 of the Creole Trail Pipeline, consisting of 94 miles of natural gas pipeline, had been constructed and placed into commercial operation. In conjunction with Phase 1 of the Creole Trail Pipeline, six delivery meter stations were commissioned providing access to eight major interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline systems.

If we decide to complete construction of the Corpus Christi LNG receiving terminal, we intend to develop the Corpus Christi Pipeline when, among other things, we have entered into acceptable commercial and acceptable financing arrangements.

The Cheniere Southern Trail Pipeline project would interconnect with multiple takeaway pipelines from LNG receiving terminals in southwestern Louisiana and a LNG receiving terminal being developed in Mississippi. The Cheniere Southern Trail Pipeline may also interconnect with multiple onshore pipelines serving conventional basins in the Gulf of Mexico and with new developments transporting natural gas from the

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unconventional shale plays in Texas and Arkansas. The Cheniere Southern Trail Pipeline could supply Florida with natural gas needed to supply the growth we anticipate in natural gas-fired generation capacity in the state over the next ten to fifteen years. This pipeline would provide LNG suppliers with access to new natural gas markets, while providing alternative access to conventional gas supplies, to improve gas supply security for Florida and the remainder of the Southeastern U.S. The Cheniere Southern Trail Pipeline will be developed once we have entered into acceptable commercial and acceptable financing arrangements.

The Burgos Hub Project involves the construction of an integrated pipeline project that would traverse the United States and Mexico border and includes a related subterranean storage facility in Mexico. We will contemplate making a final investment decision in the Burgos Hub Project upon, among other things, receiving all required authorizations to construct and operate the pipeline and storage facility, and entering into acceptable commercial and acceptable financing arrangements.

LNG and Natural Gas Marketing Business

Our LNG and natural gas marketing business segment is focused on producing long-term, recurring cash flow utilizing its reserved 2.0 Bcf/d of regasification capacity at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal. Our strategy is to remain engaged in the LNG spot market as opportunities arise, and to maintain relationships with key suppliers and market participants that we believe are candidates for entering into long-term LNG cargo sales and/or the purchase of TUA capacity currently reserved by Cheniere Marketing.

To help achieve these goals, we have entered into domestic marketing agreements with various counterparties for the sale of LNG. These agreements provide a framework under which Cheniere Marketing may offer to sell to a counterparty all or a portion of the LNG from each LNG cargo it acquires on delivery to the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal, and under which the counterparty will utilize a portion of Cheniere Marketing’s TUA capacity for storage and regasification services related to the portion of the LNG cargo that the counterparty purchases.

Oil and Natural Gas Exploration, Development and Exploitation Activities

Although our focus is primarily on the development of LNG-related businesses, we continue to be involved to a limited extent in oil and gas exploration, development and exploitation activities in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico. This business has historically required, and will continue to require, an insignificant amount of cash to fund its operations.

Overview of 2008 Events

Our significant accomplishments during 2008, some of which may also impact future years, include the following:

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We believe that these 2008 activities will provide us with sufficient liquidity to operate our business and pursue our business strategies over the next several years.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Overview

As of December 31, 2008, we had unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $102.2 million. In addition, we had restricted cash and cash equivalents of $440.0 million and U.S. Treasury securities of $20.8 million, which were designated for the following purposes: $71.1 million for construction costs of the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal; $194.8 million for Sabine Pass LNG’s working capital; $96.1 million for interest payments related to the Senior Notes described below; $62.8 million for Cheniere Marketing TUA payments; $32.8 million for cash distributions by Cheniere Partners; and $3.3 million in other restricted cash and cash equivalents.

As described below in further detail by business segment and corporate and other activities, we believe that we have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to operate our business and pursue our business strategies over the next several years.

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LNG Receiving Terminal Business

Cheniere Partners

Our ownership interest in the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal is held through Cheniere Partners. In 2007, Cheniere Partners completed a public offering of 15,525,000 Cheniere Partners common units. As a result of this public offering, our combined general partner and limited partner ownership interests in Cheniere Partners was reduced to approximately 90.6%. Cheniere Partners owns a 100% interest in Sabine Pass LNG, which is constructing and operating the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal.

For each calendar year, Cheniere Partners is expected to make distributions of $1.70 per unit on all outstanding common units, subordinated units and related distributions to its general partner. We anticipate receiving $18.5 million per year out of the total $44.9 million of annual common unit distributions. We anticipate receiving $235.8 million per year from distributions to the subordinated unitholders and general partner, of which we own 100%.

Cheniere Partners relies on the receipt of operating revenues from Sabine Pass LNG’s TUAs to fund quarterly cash distributions to us and other unitholders. Sabine Pass LNG is not permitted under the Sabine Pass Indenture to make cash distributions to Cheniere Partners if it does not satisfy a fixed charge coverage ratio test of 2:1, calculated as required in the Sabine Pass Indenture. If the coverage test is not met, we may not receive distributions. As of December 31, 2008, the fixed charge coverage ratio was met and the first distribution was made from Sabine Pass LNG to Cheniere Partners; Cheniere Partners utilized the cash received from Sabine Pass LNG to pay expenses and make distributions to us and its other unitholders.

A distribution reserve account was established from proceeds of Cheniere Partners’ initial public offering to pay distributions to the common unitholders and general partner until Cheniere Partners is able to sustain distributions from unrestricted cash, at which time the funds remaining in the account are expected to be returned to us. As of February 15, 2009, there was $32.8 million in the distribution reserve account, which is adequate to fund distributions to the common unitholders and general partner made with respect to each calendar quarter through September 30, 2009. Sabine Pass LNG began making distributions from unrestricted cash in February 2009 and expects to continue making its distributions from its cash balances. We expect that approximately $35 million will be remaining in the distribution reserve account after accounting for interest earned in the account after February 15, 2009, and that approximately $35 million of remaining funds will be distributed to us in August 2009 pursuant to the terms of Cheniere Partners’ partnership agreement.

We also expect to receive approximately $19 million of annual management and service fees from Sabine Pass LNG and Cheniere Partners pursuant to existing agreements.

Sabine Pass LNG Receiving Terminal

Our estimated aggregate construction, commissioning and operating cost budget through the achievement of full operability of the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal (with approximately 4.0 Bcf/d of total sendout capacity and five LNG storage tanks with approximately 16.8 Bcf of aggregate storage capacity) is approximately $1,559 million, excluding financing costs. Of this amount, approximately $1,416 million of construction and commissioning costs had been incurred as of December 31, 2008. Our remaining construction, commissioning and operating costs are anticipated to be funded from working capital and the $71.1 million of restricted cash and cash equivalents designated for construction. In September 2008, Hurricane Ike and related storm activity, such as windstorms, storm surges and floods, struck the Texas and Louisiana coasts. We experienced minor damage at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal with most of the damage impacting equipment and facilities associated with the 1.4 Bcf/d of sendout capacity and 6.7 Bcf of storage capacity still under construction. Impact to operations and the equipment and facilities associated with the initial 2.6 Bcf/d of sendout capacity and 10.1 Bcf of storage capacity was minimal. We continue to expect to complete construction of the remaining 1.4 Bcf/d of sendout capacity and 6.7 Bcf of storage capacity in the third quarter of 2009.

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Estimated costs to repair damage caused by Hurricane Ike are approximately $32 million, of which we believe approximately $22 million will be recoverable from insurance proceeds and other sources. The estimated costs to repair this damage have been factored into the budget estimate above.

The entire 4.0 Bcf/d of regasification capacity that will be available at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal upon completion of construction has been fully reserved under three long-term TUAs, under which Sabine Pass LNG’s customers are required to pay fixed monthly fees, whether or not they use the terminal. Because we achieved commercial operability of the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal in September 2008, capacity reservation fee TUA payments will begin to be made by our third-party customers as follows:

In addition, Cheniere Marketing has reserved the remaining 2.0 Bcf/d of regasification capacity, and is entitled to use any capacity not utilized by Total and Chevron. In September 2008, Cheniere Marketing made a capacity reservation fee payment of $15.0 million for October, November and December 2008. In December 2008, Cheniere Marketing made a capacity reservation fee payment of $62.7 million for the first three months of 2009. Cheniere Marketing is required to make monthly capacity payments aggregating approximately $250 million per year for the period from January 1, 2009, through at least the third quarter of 2028. Cheniere has guaranteed Cheniere Marketing’s obligations under its TUA.

Under each of these TUAs, Sabine Pass LNG is also entitled to retain 2% of the LNG delivered for the customer’s account, which Sabine Pass LNG will use primarily as fuel for revaporation and self-generated power at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal.

Each of Total and Chevron has paid us $20.0 million in nonrefundable advance capacity reservation fees, which will be amortized over a 10-year period as a reduction of each customer’s regasification capacity fees payable under its TUA.

Other LNG Receiving Terminals

We have a 30% limited partner interest in Freeport LNG. In March 2008 and May 2008, we received cash call notices from Freeport LNG requesting that we provide further financial support due to higher than expected commissioning and performance testing costs. During 2008, we funded the cash calls and have recorded $4.8 million of additional losses in Freeport LNG. In October 2008, Freeport LNG made its first distribution of $4.8 million to us. We expect to continue to receive distributions from Freeport LNG as they are approved by Freeport LNG’s board of directors.

We will contemplate making final investment decisions to complete construction of our Corpus Christi LNG receiving terminal project and to commence construction of our Creole Trail LNG receiving terminal project upon, among other things, entering into acceptable commercial arrangements and entering into acceptable financing arrangements for the applicable project. We do not expect to spend significant funds on these projects until we have entered into acceptable commercial arrangements and acceptable financing arrangements.

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Natural Gas Pipeline Business

As of December 31, 2008, Phase 1 of the Creole Trail Pipeline, consisting of 94 miles of natural gas pipeline, had been constructed and placed into commercial operations. Expenditures incurred for the construction of the Creole Trail Pipeline through December 31, 2008 were approximately $553 million, including accrued liabilities. We believe we have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to operate our Creole Trail Pipeline for the next several years.

We will contemplate making a final investment decision to construct Phase 2 of the Creole Trail Pipeline, the Corpus Christi Pipeline, the Cheniere Southern Trail Pipeline and the Burgos Hub Project upon, among other things, receiving all required authorizations to construct and operate the applicable pipeline (and storage facility in the case of Burgos Hub), to the extent not already obtained, and entering into acceptable commercial arrangements and acceptable financing arrangements for the applicable project.

LNG and Natural Gas Marketing Business

In April 2008, we commenced a cost savings program in connection with the downsizing of our natural gas marketing business activities, the nearing completion of significant construction activities for both the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal and Creole Trail Pipeline and the seeking of alternative arrangements for our time charter interests in two LNG vessels. We have unwound, terminated or assigned our commitments under our domestic natural gas agreements on terms we believe to be acceptable and have cancelled both of our LNG vessel charters.

We deposited $135.0 million in a TUA reserve account utilizing a portion of the 2008 Convertible Loans that were closed in August 2008. Pursuant to the 2008 Convertible Loans, all funds in the TUA reserve account in excess of three months of Cheniere Marketing’s TUA payments can be released to us as unrestricted cash and cash equivalents after we have received three consecutive monthly payments from both Total and Chevron under their respective TUAs, which we believe will occur in August 2009. We believe that we will obtain approximately $66 million from the TUA reserve account as unrestricted cash and cash equivalents in August 2009.

Cheniere Marketing will utilize funds in the TUA reserve account, distributions from Cheniere Partners and operating cash flows to pay its TUA obligation.

Corporate and Other Activities

We are required to maintain a certain level of corporate general and administrative functions to serve our business activities described above. We believe that we have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to fund these business activities over the next several years.

Although our focus is primarily on the development of LNG-related businesses, we continue to be involved to a limited extent in oil and gas exploration, development and exploitation activities in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico. We do not anticipate significant cash expenditures related to this activity and expect cash inflows from oil and natural gas production to gradually decrease as our reserves are produced.

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Sources and Uses of Cash

The following table summarizes (in thousands) the sources and uses of our cash and cash equivalents for 2008, 2007 and 2006. The table presents capital expenditures on a cash basis; therefore, these amounts differ from the amounts of capital expenditures, including accruals that are referred to elsewhere in this report. Additional discussion of these items follows the table.