Cheniere Energy reports first quarter 2012 financial results

HOUSTON, Texas - Cheniere Energy, Inc. (LNG) reported a net loss of $56.4 million, or $0.43 per share (basic and diluted), for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a net loss of $39.8 million, or $0.60 per share (basic and diluted), for the comparable 2011 period.

Results include LNG terminal and pipeline development expenses of $21.8 million, or $0.17 per share for the quarter ended March 31, and $8.4 million, or $0.13 per share, for the comparable 2011 period, which primarily related to the Sabine Pass Liquefaction Project currently under development.

Cheniere Energy shares given new $19 price target by Citigroup analysts

Equities research analysts at Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy Inc. (NYSE: LNG) to $19.00 in a research issued note to investors on Nov. 23. They currently have a buy rating on the company's shares.

Cheniere is an energy company primarily engaged in liquefied natural gas (LNG)-related businesses.

The company owns and operates the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal in Louisiana through its 90.6 percent ownership interest in and management agreements with Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. (Cheniere Partners). It also owns and operates the Creole Trail Pipeline, which interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal with downstream markets.

One of its subsidiaries, Cheniere Marketing, LLC, is marketing LNG and natural gas. It owns 30percent of the limited partnership interests of Freeport LNG Development, L.P., which operates the Freeport LNG receiving terminal. In addition, it is engaged to a limited extent in oil and natural gas exploration and development activities in the Gulf of Mexico.

Cheniere and BG in $8 billion deal to export U.S. LNG

NEW YORK - BG Group will export liquefied natural gas from the United States under a landmark $8 billion deal with Cheniere Energy that will allow domestic producers to ship bountiful shale gas supplies to the world for the first time.

The deal, announced Oct. 26, paves the way for terminal developer Cheniere to secure financing for the its Sabine Pass project in Louisiana which could be the first LNG export plant built in the United States in nearly 50 years as U.S. gas production hits record highs.

"If we start construction by next year then we could be exporting by 2015," Cheniere chief executive Charif Souki told Reuters. "The BG Group contract will help with financing."

The deal is expected to reap $410 million a year, Souki said, a boon for a company which put most of its money into building a huge import terminal at Sabine Pass that has for three years received only sporadic supply.

Record U.S. natural gas production has swamped the market in recent years, leading to a series of rival export proposals all hoping to sell LNG to higher paying markets in Asia and Europe.

Under the deal, which could help reverse the fortunes of the troubled Houston-based company, Cheniere will sell 3.5 million tons per year of liquefied natural gas to BG for 20 years from its proposed export plant in Sabine Pass, La.

Terminal developers like Cheniere are scrambling to turn their idle import facilities into export plants to ship U.S. natural gas abroad after a revolution in shale gas production left the United States with 100 years of supply.

BG Group, one of the world's biggest LNG players, has access to import markets across the globe. Anywhere from Japan to Korea to Chile could soon be importing U.S. gas.

Cheniere will sell the LNG to BG for 115 percent of U.S. benchmark Henry Hub prices, plus a $2.25 premium.

Feds clear Cheniere Energy's bid to export LNG

HOUSTON, Texas - Cheniere Energy (NYSE AmEx: LNG) received approval on May 20 from the Department of Energy to export U.S. natural gas overseas, the first such authorization in over 40 years, the company announced.

Assuming Cheniere is granted a subsequent license from U.S. power regulators to build its liquefaction plant in Louisiana, it may become the first company to begin shipping LNG abroad since the discovery of vast shale reserves in recent years upended the U.S. market, flooding it with decades' worth of supply.

Cheniere has the authorization to export up to 803 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year to major LNG importers across the globe, from Brazil to Japan, in the form of liquefied natural gas, the company’s news release said.

Houston-based Cheniere already had approval to export natural gas to countries with which the United States has a free-trade agreement, a group that excludes almost every major importer, countries such as Spain, Korea and the UK. Friday's move opens up the export to all major LNG importers.

Cheniere signs MOU with Sumitomo for Sabine Pass LNG terminal

CAMERON PARISH, La. - Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE Amex: CQP) announced on Jan. 27 that its subsidiary, Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC, has entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Sumitomo Corp., under which Sumitomo intends to contract up to approximately 1.5 million tons per annum (mtpa) of processing capacity at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal located in Cameron Parish, La.

Under the MOU, Sumitomo and Sabine have agreed to proceed with negotiations of definitive agreements for Sumitomo to contract bi-directional capacity, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals and making a final investment decision to construct the liquefaction facilities.

"We are pleased to have Sumitomo as a customer at Sabine Pass." said Charif Souki, chairman and CEO of Cheniere Energy Partners. "With this MOU we have up to 7.7 million tons per annum of LNG processing capacity reserved. We have reached our targeted capacity for the first two trains and look forward to advancing discussions and entering into definitive agreements."

Cheniere Partners owns 100 percent of the Sabine Pass LNG terminal located in western Cameron Parish, La., 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 0.7 Bcf/d of natural gas and an average liquefaction processing capacity of 3.5 mtpa. The initial project phase is anticipated to include two modular trains and the capacity to process 1.2 Bcf/d of pipeline quality natural gas.

Start 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.