HOUSTON, June 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Cheniere Energy
Partners, L.P. ("Cheniere Partners") (NYSE MKT: CQP) announced
today that its Board of Directors has made a positive Final
Investment Decision ("FID") with respect to Train 5 of the
Sabine Pass liquefaction project
("Sabine Pass Liquefaction Project") in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, and has issued a
notice to proceed with construction to Bechtel Oil, Gas and
Chemicals, Inc. ("Bechtel"). The Sabine Pass Liquefaction Project
is being designed for up to six liquefaction trains, each with
nominal production capacity of approximately 4.5 million tonnes per
annum ("mtpa"). Train 5 is expected to commence operations as early
as 2018.
"We now have five liquefaction trains under construction at
Sabine Pass, with Train 1 expected
to make first LNG later this year. We expect to reach FID on Train
6 at Sabine Pass upon completion
of commercial contracts and arranging financing, as all necessary
regulatory approvals have been received," said Charif Souki, Chairman and CEO of Cheniere. "We
appreciate all of the time and effort that goes into these projects
and would like to thank our employees, contractors, Bechtel,
government officials, and our strategic partners for their
continued dedication and hard work as we proceed with construction
on our Sabine Pass Liquefaction Project."
In order to fund Train 5 construction, Cheniere Partners' wholly
owned subsidiary, Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC, has entered into
four credit facilities, which replace its existing credit
facilities, for the incurrence of debt up to an aggregate amount of
approximately $4.6 billion. The
credit facilities include a Term Loan A Credit Facility of
approximately $2.85 billion with a
syndicate of 25 banks and financial institutions and an additional
three credit facilities – one with The Export-Import Bank of Korea
for its own account, one with Korean financial institutions
supported by the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation and another with
Korean financial institutions supported by The Export-Import Bank
of Korea – collectively totaling $1.75
billion. These credit facilities complete the financing
needed to fund the costs of developing, constructing and placing
into service the first five liquefaction trains of the Sabine Pass
Liquefaction Project. Additionally, Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC
has commitments for a $1.2 billion
revolving credit facility which is expected to close in due
course. Société Générale acted as financial advisor.
Cheniere Partners owns 100 percent of the Sabine Pass LNG
terminal located on the Sabine
Pass deep-water shipping channel less than four miles from
the Gulf Coast. The Sabine Pass LNG terminal includes existing
infrastructure of five LNG storage tanks with capacity of
approximately 16.9 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe), two docks
that can accommodate vessels with nominal capacity of up to 266,000
cubic meters and vaporizers with regasification capacity of
approximately 4.0 Bcf/d.
Cheniere Partners is developing natural gas liquefaction
facilities at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal adjacent to the existing
regasification facilities. Cheniere Partners plans to construct
over time up to six liquefaction trains, which are in various
stages of development. Each liquefaction train is expected to have
a nominal production capacity of approximately 4.5 mtpa. The
overall project completion percentage of Trains 1 and 2 is
approximately 90.8% as of May 31, 2015. The overall project
completion percentage of Trains 3 and 4 is approximately 67.7% as
of May 31, 2015. Construction commenced on Train 5 in
June 2015. Cheniere Partners has
received all regulatory approvals to construct and operate Train 6.
Cheniere Partners has entered into six third-party LNG SPAs that in
the aggregate equate to 19.75 mtpa and commence with the date of
first commercial delivery of Trains 1 through 5 as specified in the
respective SPAs. Cheniere Partners has placed documentation
pertaining to the Sabine Pass Liquefaction Project, including the
applications and supporting studies, on its website located at
http://www.cheniere.com.
This press release contains certain statements that may include
"forward-looking statements." All statements, other than statements
of historical facts, included herein are "forward-looking
statements." Included among "forward-looking statements" are, among
other things, (i) statements regarding Cheniere Partners' business
strategy, plans and objectives, including the development,
construction and operation of liquefaction facilities, (ii)
statements regarding expectations regarding regulatory
authorizations and approvals, (iii) statements expressing beliefs
and expectations regarding the development of Cheniere Partners'
LNG terminal and liquefaction business, (iv) statements regarding
the business operations and prospects of third parties, (v)
statements regarding potential financing arrangements, and (vi)
statements regarding future discussions and entry into contracts.
Although Cheniere Partners believes 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. Cheniere Partners' 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 Cheniere Partners' periodic reports that are filed
with and available from the Securities and Exchange Commission. You
should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.
Other than as required under the securities laws, Cheniere Partners
does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking
statements.
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SOURCE Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P.