Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation

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Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

We are currently developing and constructing two natural gas liquefaction and export facilities. The Sabine Pass LNG terminal is located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, on the Sabine-Neches Waterway less than four miles from the Gulf Coast. Cheniere Partners is developing, constructing and operating natural gas liquefaction facilities (the “SPL Project”) at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal adjacent to the existing regasification facilities (described below) through a wholly owned subsidiary, SPL. Cheniere Partners plans to construct up to six Trains, which are in various stages of development, construction and operations. Trains 1 through 5 are operational and early works have begun for Train 6 under limited notices to proceed ahead of an anticipated positive final investment decision (“FID”). The Sabine Pass LNG terminal has operational regasification facilities owned by Cheniere Partners’ wholly owned subsidiary, SPLNG, and a 94-mile pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG terminal with a number of large interstate pipelines owned by Cheniere Partners’ wholly owned subsidiary, CTPL.

We are developing and constructing a second natural gas liquefaction and export facility at the Corpus Christi LNG terminal near Corpus Christi, Texas, and operate a 23-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Corpus Christi LNG terminal with several interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines (the “Corpus Christi Pipeline” and together with the liquefaction facilities, the “CCL Project”) through our wholly owned subsidiaries CCL and CCP, respectively. The CCL Project is being developed in stages with the first phase being three Trains (“Phase 1”). The first stage includes Trains 1 and 2, two LNG storage tanks, one complete marine berth and a second partial berth and all of the CCL Project’s necessary infrastructure facilities (“Stage 1”). The second stage includes Train 3, one LNG storage tank and the completion of the second partial berth (“Stage 2”). Train 1 is operational, Train 2 is undergoing commissioning and Train 3 is under construction.

Additionally, separate from the CCH Group, we are developing an expansion of the Corpus Christi LNG terminal adjacent to the CCL Project and filed an application with FERC in June 2018 for seven midscale Trains with an expected aggregate nominal production capacity of approximately 9.5 mtpa and one LNG storage tank.

We remain focused on expansion of our existing sites by leveraging existing infrastructure. We continue to consider development of other projects, including infrastructure projects in support of natural gas supply and LNG demand, which, among other things, will require acceptable commercial and financing arrangements before we make an FID.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements of Cheniere have been prepared in accordance with GAAP for interim financial information and with Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes included in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. In our opinion, all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments necessary for a fair presentation, have been included.

Results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations that will be realized for the year ending December 31, 2019.

Recent Accounting Standards

We adopted ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), and subsequent amendments thereto (“ASC 842”) on January 1, 2019 using the optional transition approach to apply the standard at the beginning of the first quarter of 2019 with no retrospective adjustments to prior periods. The adoption of the standard resulted in the recognition of right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for operating leases of approximately $550 million on our Consolidated Balance Sheets, with no material impact on our Consolidated Statements of Operations or Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. We have elected the practical expedients to (1) carryforward prior conclusions related to lease identification and classification for existing leases, (2) combine lease and non-lease components of an arrangement for all classes of leased assets, (3) omit short-term leases with a term of 12 months or less from recognition on the balance sheet and (4) carryforward our existing accounting for land easements not previously accounted for as leases. See Note 11—Leases for additional information on our leases following the adoption of this standard.