Cheniere Engages Societe Generale as Financial Advisor for the Proposed Sabine Pass Liquefaction Project (USA)

Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. announced today that SG Americas Securities, LLC, the U.S. broker-dealer subsidiary of Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking, has been engaged as financial advisor to Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC  for general financial strategy and planning in connection with the development and financing of liquefaction facilities at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal, located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.

“We look forward to working again with SG CIB as we develop our liquefaction project at Sabine Pass,” said Meg Gentle, CFO of Cheniere Partners. “We believe their extensive background and experience advising and financing LNG projects will significantly strengthen our financing process.”

Cheniere Partners owns 100 percent of the Sabine Pass LNG terminal located in western Cameron Parish, Louisiana on the Sabine Pass Channel. The terminal has sendout capacity of 4.0 Bcf/d and storage capacity of 16.9 Bcfe.

As currently contemplated, the Sabine Pass liquefaction project would be designed and permitted for up to four modular LNG trains, each with a peak processing capacity of up to approximately 0.7 Bcf/d of natural gas and an average liquefaction processing capacity of approximately 3.5 mtpa. The initial project phase is anticipated to include two modular trains and the capacity to process on average approximately 1.2 Bcf/d of pipeline quality natural gas. We intend to enter into contracts for at least 0.5 Bcf/d of natural gas liquefaction capacity per train. Commencement of construction is subject to regulatory approvals and a final investment decision contingent upon Cheniere Partners obtaining satisfactory construction contracts and entering into long-term customer contracts sufficient to underpin financing of the project. We believe that the time and cost required to develop the project would be materially lessened by Sabine Pass LNG’s existing large acreage and infrastructure. We anticipate LNG export could commence as early as 2015.

Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking, the investment banking arm of France’s Societe Generale Group, is a well diversified and leading player with 11,000 professionals present in over 33 countries across Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. Standing by its clients across sectors, the Corporate & Investment Bank tailors solutions for them by capitalizing on its worldwide expertise in investment banking, global finance, and global markets, and providing strategic advisory, capital raising, cross-asset investing and risk management solutions.

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Source: Cheniere Energy Partners, December 14, 2010;