Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Financial Instruments - Fair Value, by Balance Sheet Grouping (Details)

v2.4.0.6
Financial Instruments - Fair Value, by Balance Sheet Grouping (Details) (USD $)
Share data in Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified
 1 Months Ended 3 Months Ended 1 Months Ended
Apr. 30, 2012
Jun. 30, 2012
Senior Notes
2013 Senior Notes
Carrying Amount [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
Senior Notes
2013 Senior Notes
Carrying Amount [Member]
Jun. 30, 2012
Senior Notes
2013 Senior Notes
Estimated Fair Value
Dec. 31, 2011
Senior Notes
2013 Senior Notes
Estimated Fair Value
Jun. 30, 2012
Senior Notes
2016 Senior Notes [Member]
Carrying Amount [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
Senior Notes
2016 Senior Notes [Member]
Carrying Amount [Member]
Jun. 30, 2012
Senior Notes
2016 Senior Notes [Member]
Estimated Fair Value
Dec. 31, 2011
Senior Notes
2016 Senior Notes [Member]
Estimated Fair Value
Jun. 30, 2009
Convertible Senior Unsecured Notes [Member]
Jul. 31, 2005
Convertible Senior Unsecured Notes [Member]
Jun. 30, 2012
Convertible Senior Unsecured Notes [Member]
Carrying Amount [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
Convertible Senior Unsecured Notes [Member]
Carrying Amount [Member]
Jun. 30, 2012
Convertible Senior Unsecured Notes [Member]
Estimated Fair Value
Dec. 31, 2011
Convertible Senior Unsecured Notes [Member]
Estimated Fair Value
Jun. 30, 2012
Loans Payable [Member]
2007 Term Loan
Carrying Amount [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
Loans Payable [Member]
2007 Term Loan
Carrying Amount [Member]
Jun. 30, 2012
Loans Payable [Member]
2007 Term Loan
Estimated Fair Value
Dec. 31, 2011
Loans Payable [Member]
2007 Term Loan
Estimated Fair Value
Dec. 31, 2010
Convertible Loans Payable [Member]
2008 Loans [Member]
Jun. 30, 2012
Convertible Loans Payable [Member]
2008 Loans [Member]
Carrying Amount [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
Convertible Loans Payable [Member]
2008 Loans [Member]
Carrying Amount [Member]
Jun. 30, 2012
Convertible Loans Payable [Member]
2008 Loans [Member]
Estimated Fair Value
Dec. 31, 2011
Convertible Loans Payable [Member]
2008 Loans [Member]
Estimated Fair Value
Jun. 30, 2012
Line of Credit
Liquefaction Credit Facility
Carrying Amount [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
Line of Credit
Liquefaction Credit Facility
Carrying Amount [Member]
Jun. 30, 2012
Line of Credit
Liquefaction Credit Facility
Estimated Fair Value
Dec. 31, 2011
Line of Credit
Liquefaction Credit Facility
Estimated Fair Value
Jun. 30, 2012
Investor [Member]
Convertible Loans Payable [Member]
2008 Loans [Member]
Apr. 30, 2012
Investor [Member]
Convertible Loans Payable [Member]
2008 Loans [Member]
Apr. 30, 2012
Common Stock
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]                                                              
Long-term debt, including Related-party debt   $ 550,000,000 [1] $ 550,000,000 [1] $ 585,750,000 [1] $ 555,500,000 [1] $ 1,645,939,000 [1] $ 1,642,418,000 [1] $ 1,773,499,000 [1] $ 1,650,630,000 [1]     $ 0 [2] $ 194,724,000 [2] $ 0 [2] $ 186,740,000 [2] $ 0 [3] $ 298,000,000 [3] $ 0 [3] $ 292,728,000 [3]   $ 0 [4] $ 282,293,000 [4] $ 0 [4] $ 282,293,000 [4] $ 100,000,000 [5] $ 0 [5] $ 100,000,000 [5] $ 0 [5]      
Percentage of lenders                                       96.60%                      
Debt instrument conversion price (US$ per share)                     $ 35.42                                   $ 5.00    
Convertible debt outstanding                                                           8,400,000  
Number of shares of common stock exchanged for debt                   4.0                                         1.7
Value of cash and cash equivalents debt was exchanged for $ 1,400,000                 $ 30,000,000                                          
[1] The Level 2 estimated fair value of the Senior Notes, net of discount, was based on quotations obtained from broker-dealers who make markets in these and similar instruments based on the closing trading prices on September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, as applicable.
[2] The Level 2 estimated fair value of our Convertible Senior Unsecured Notes was based on the closing trading price on December 31, 2011. We repaid in full the Convertible Senior Unsecured Notes in August 2012.
[3] The 2007 Term Loan was closely held by few holders, and purchases and sales were infrequent and were conducted on a bilateral basis without price discovery by us. This loan was not rated and had unique covenants and collateral packages such that comparisons to other instruments were imprecise. Nonetheless, we provided an estimate of the fair value of this loan as of December 31, 2011 based on an index of the yield to maturity of CCC rated debt of other companies in the energy sector, resulting in Level 3 categorization. In January 2012, the 2007 Term Loan was paid in full.
[4] The Level 3 estimated fair value of the 2008 Loans as of December 31, 2011 was determined to be the same as the carrying amount due to our ability to call the debt (other than the debt held by Scorpion) at anytime without penalty or a make-whole payment for an early redemption. In April 2012, Scorpion exchanged all $8.4 million of its loan for 1.7 million shares of Cheniere common stock and $1.4 million cash. In June 2012, the 2008 Loans were paid in full and the credit agreement and related agreements were terminated.
[5] The Level 3 estimated fair value of the Liquefaction Credit Facility was determined to be the carrying amount due to our ability to call this debt at anytime without penalty.