Note 3 - Liquidity Level 1 (Notes) |
9 Months Ended |
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Sep. 30, 2011 | |
| Liquidity [Abstract] | |
| Liquidity Disclosure [Policy Text Block] |
Liquidity
As of September 30, 2011, we had unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $131.3 million available to Cheniere, which excludes cash and cash equivalents and other working capital available to Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. ("Cheniere Partners"), a publicly traded partnership in which we own an 88.8% interest, and Sabine Pass LNG, L.P. ("Sabine Pass LNG"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Cheniere Partners. We also had restricted cash and cash equivalents of $235.4 million, which were designated for the following purposes: $137.3 million for interest payments related to the Senior Notes described below; $4.6 million for Sabine Pass LNG's working capital; $89.9 million for Cheniere Partners' working capital; and $3.6 million for other restricted purposes. Although results are consolidated for financial reporting, Cheniere, Cheniere Partners and Sabine Pass LNG operate with independent capital structures.
During the second quarter of 2011, we reclassified $298.0 million of debt from a long-term liability to a current liability because our 2007 Term Loan was due within 12 months as of May 31, 2011. During the third quarter of 2011, we reclassified $190.7 million, net of discount, of debt from a long-term liability to a current liability because our Convertible Senior Unsecured Notes were due within 12 months as of August 1, 2011. We believe we will have sufficient unrestricted cash, liquid assets, cash generated from our operations and access to capital markets to satisfy our debt obligations and fund our operations. In order to satisfy our principal payments due in May 2012 and August 2012, we will need to extend or retire our indebtedness, which may be accomplished by refinancing our existing indebtedness, issuing equity or other securities, selling assets or through a combination of the foregoing and will be dependent on factors such as worldwide natural gas and capital market conditions.
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