The board of Texas-based Cheniere
Energy Partners has approved a final investment decision to build the first two
liquefaction trains at its
Sabine
Pass
project in Cameron Parish,
Louisiana
.
Cheniere is funding the project costs with
about $2 billion of equity and $3.6 billion of debt, giving it $5.4 billion in
available cash to build the two trains proposed for the first phase of the
project.
The final investment decision is still subject
to the closing of funding.
US
equity giant Blackstone Group has
agreed to purchase $1.5 billion of Cheniere’s Class B units, while the
company’s subsidiary, Cheniere Energy Incorporated will buy $500 million of
Class B units.
Once the funding is finalised, Cheniere will
issue a full notice to proceed to Bechtel, which has been awarded an
engineering, procurement and construction contract for the liquefaction trains.
The first liquefaction train is expected to
start operations as early as 2015, with the second liquefaction train expected
to commence operations six to nine months later.