Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Non-Controlling Interest (Details)

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Non-Controlling Interest (Details) (USD $)
 3 Months Ended 9 Months Ended 1 Months Ended 2 Months Ended 9 Months Ended 12 Months Ended 1 Months Ended 9 Months Ended 12 Months Ended 1 Months Ended 12 Months Ended 1 Months Ended 9 Months Ended 5 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2012
Sep. 30, 2011
Sep. 30, 2012
Sep. 30, 2011
Dec. 31, 2011
Sep. 30, 2012
Cheniere Partners
Sep. 30, 2011
Cheniere Partners
Apr. 30, 2007
Cheniere Partners
Sep. 30, 2012
Cheniere Partners
Dec. 31, 2011
Cheniere Partners
Jan. 31, 2011
Cheniere Partners
Maximum [Member]
Sep. 30, 2012
Cheniere LNG Holdings [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
Cheniere LNG Holdings [Member]
Sep. 30, 2012
Cheniere Common Units Holding, LLC [Member]
Sep. 30, 2011
Cheniere Common Units Holding, LLC [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
Common Unit Option
Cheniere LNG Holdings [Member]
May 31, 2012
Capital Unit, Class B
Cheniere Partners
Sep. 30, 2012
Capital Unit, Class B
Cheniere Partners
Sep. 30, 2012
Capital Unit, Class B
Blackstone CQP Holdco LP [Member]
Stockholders' Equity Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest [Abstract]                                      
Net proceeds from issuance / sale of common units                 $ 355,765,000 [1]     $ 203,946,000 [2]              
Distributions to Cheniere Partners' non-controlling interest     (24,628,000)           (145,651,000) [3]                    
Non-controlling interest share of loss of Cheniere Partners 2,875,000 1,533,000 8,277,000 3,459,000         (33,417,000)                    
Non-controlling interest at June 30, 2012 1,268,004,000   1,268,004,000   208,575,000                            
Common units sold in public offering           8,000,000 3,000,000 15,525,000 500,000 500,000                  
Sale of common units to non-controlling interest     205,174,000 52,628,000   194,000,000 43,300,000 98,400,000 11,100,000 9,000,000     203,900,000     39,400,000      
At-the-Market Sale Program authorized number of units                     1,000,000                
Number of common units sold in private placement                             1,100,000 2,025,000 100,000,000 66,700,000 66,700,000
Proceeds from Issuance of common units to Cheniere Common Units Holdings, LLC                             $ 16,400,000        
Partners' Capital Account, Units, Common Units Authorized for Sale                                 100,000,000    
Price per common unit (US$ per unit)                           25.07 15.25   15 15.00  
[1] In March and April 2007, we and Cheniere Partners completed a public offering of 15,525,000 Cheniere Partners common units (the "Cheniere Partners Offering"). Cheniere Partners received $98.4 million in net proceeds from the issuance of its common units to the public. Prior to January 1, 2009, a company was able to elect an accounting policy of recording a gain or loss on the sale of common equity of a subsidiary equal to the amount of proceeds received in excess of the carrying value of the parent’s investment. Effective January 1, 2009, the sale of common equity of a subsidiary is accounted for as an equity transaction. In January 2011, Cheniere Partners initiated an at-the-market program to sell up to 1.0 million common units, the proceeds from which would be used primarily to fund development costs associated with the Liquefaction Project. As of December 31, 2011, Cheniere Partners had sold 0.5 million common units with net proceeds of $9.0 million. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012, Cheniere Partners sold 0.5 million common units with net proceeds of $11.1 million. In September 2011, Cheniere Partners sold 3.0 million common units in an underwritten public offering and 1.1 million common units to Cheniere Common Units Holding, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cheniere, at a price of $15.25 per common unit. Cheniere Partners received net proceeds of $43.3 million and $16.4 million from the public offering and Cheniere Common Units Holding, LLC sale, respectively
[2] In conjunction with the Cheniere Partners Offering, Cheniere LNG Holdings, LLC ("Holdings") sold a portion of the Cheniere Partners common units held by it to the public, realizing net proceeds of $203.9 million, which included $39.4 million of net proceeds realized once the underwriters exercised their option to purchase an additional 2,025,000 common units from Holdings. Due to the subordinated distribution rights on our subordinated units, we recorded those proceeds as non-controlling interest.
[3] Cash distributions to the non-controlling interest are recorded directly against the non-controlling interest on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. There is no obligation beyond what is reflected in our consolidated financial statements to fund or absorb such distributions to the non-controlling interest. If in the future the non-controlling interest on our Consolidated Balance Sheets is reduced to zero, these distributions may increase the loss allocated to us.