| Finance lease liabilities (3) | | | | | | (1)
(2) million reclassified from operating leases to finance leases during the nine months ended September 30, 2024, as a result of modifications of the underlying tug vessel leases.
million reclassified from finance leases to operating leases during the nine months ended September 30, 2024, as a result of modifications of the underlying tug vessel leases.
ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This quarterly report contains certain statements that are, or may be deemed to be, “forward-looking statements.” All statements, other than statements of historical or present facts or conditions, included herein or incorporated herein by reference are “forward-looking statements.” Included among “forward-looking statements” are, among other things:
•statements regarding our ability to pay distributions to our unitholders;
•statements regarding our expected receipt of cash distributions from SPLNG, SPL or CTPL;
•statements that we expect to commence or complete construction of our proposed LNG terminal, liquefaction facility, pipeline facility or other projects, or any expansions or portions thereof, by certain dates, or at all;
•statements regarding future levels of domestic and international natural gas production, supply or consumption or future levels of LNG imports into or exports from North America and other countries worldwide or purchases of natural gas, regardless of the source of such information, or the transportation or other infrastructure or demand for and prices related to natural gas, LNG or other hydrocarbon products;
•statements regarding any financing transactions or arrangements, or our ability to enter into such transactions;
•statements regarding our future sources of liquidity and cash requirements;
•statements relating to the construction of our Trains, including statements concerning the engagement of any EPC contractor or other contractor and the anticipated terms and provisions of any agreement with any EPC or other contractor, and anticipated costs related thereto;
•statements regarding any SPA or other agreement to be entered into or performed substantially in the future, including any revenues anticipated to be received and the anticipated timing thereof, and statements regarding the amounts of total LNG regasification, natural gas liquefaction or storage capacities that are, or may become, subject to contracts;
•statements regarding counterparties to our commercial contracts, construction contracts and other contracts;
•statements regarding our planned development and construction of additional Trains, including the financing of such Trains;
•statements that our Trains, when completed, will have certain characteristics, including amounts of liquefaction capacities;
•statements regarding our business strategy, our strengths, our business and operation plans or any other plans, forecasts, projections, or objectives, including anticipated revenues, capital expenditures, maintenance and operating costs and cash flows, any or all of which are subject to change;
•statements relating to our goals, commitments and strategies in relation to environmental matters;
•statements regarding legislative, governmental, regulatory, administrative or other public body actions, approvals, requirements, permits, applications, filings, investigations, proceedings or decisions; and
•any other statements that relate to non-historical or future information.
All of these types of statements, other than statements of historical or present facts or conditions, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “achieve,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “pursue,” “target,” the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. The forward-looking statements contained in this quarterly report are largely based on our expectations, which reflect estimates and assumptions made by our management. These estimates and assumptions reflect our best judgment based on currently known market conditions and other factors. Although we believe that such estimates are reasonable, they are inherently uncertain and involve a number of risks and uncertainties beyond our control. In addition, assumptions may prove to be inaccurate. We caution that the forward-looking statements contained in this quarterly report are not guarantees of future performance and that such statements may not be realized or the forward-looking statements or events may not occur. Actual results may differ materially
from those anticipated or implied in forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors described in this quarterly report and in the other reports and other information that we file with the SEC, including those discussed under “Risk Factors” in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these risk factors. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and other than as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement or provide reasons why actual results may differ, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Introduction
The following discussion and analysis presents management’s view of our business, financial condition and overall performance and should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying notes. This information is intended to provide investors with an understanding of our past performance, current financial condition and outlook for the future.
Our discussion and analysis includes the following subjects:
Overview
We are a publicly traded Delaware limited partnership formed by Cheniere. We provide clean, secure and affordable LNG to integrated energy companies, utilities and energy trading companies around the world. We aspire to conduct our business in a safe and responsible manner, delivering a reliable, competitive and integrated source of LNG to our customers.
LNG is natural gas (methane) in liquid form. The LNG we produce is shipped all over the world, converted back into natural gas (called “regasification”) and then transported via pipeline to homes and businesses and used as an energy source that is essential for heating, cooking, other industrial uses and back up for intermittent energy sources. Natural gas is a cleaner-burning, abundant and affordable source of energy. When LNG is converted back to natural gas, it can be used instead of coal, which reduces the amount of pollution traditionally produced from burning fossil fuels, like sulfur dioxide and particulate matter that enters the air we breathe. Additionally, compared to coal, it produces significantly fewer carbon emissions. By liquefying natural gas, we are able to reduce its volume by 600 times so that we can load it onto special LNG carriers designed to keep the LNG cold and in liquid form for efficient transport overseas.
We own a natural gas liquefaction and export facility located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana at Sabine Pass (the “Sabine Pass LNG Terminal”), one of the largest LNG production facilities in the world, which has six operational Trains, for a total production capacity of approximately 30 mtpa of LNG (the “Liquefaction Project”). The Sabine Pass LNG Terminal also has operational regasification facilities that include five LNG storage tanks with aggregate capacity of approximately 17 Bcfe and vaporizers with regasification capacity of approximately 4 Bcf/d, as well as three marine berths, two of which can accommodate vessels with nominal capacity of up to 266,000 cubic meters and the third berth which can accommodate vessels with nominal capacity of up to 200,000 cubic meters. We also own a 94-mile natural gas supply pipeline through our subsidiary, CTPL, that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal with several large interstate and intrastate pipelines (the “Creole Trail Pipeline”).
Our long-term customer arrangements form the foundation of our business and provide us with significant, stable, long-term cash flows. We have contracted most of our anticipated production capacity under SPAs, in which our customers are generally required to pay a fixed fee with respect to the contracted volumes irrespective of their election to cancel or suspend deliveries of LNG cargoes, and under IPM agreements, in which a gas producer sells natural gas to us on a global LNG or natural gas index price, less a fixed liquefaction fee, shipping and other costs. The SPAs also have a variable fee component,
which is generally structured to cover the cost of natural gas purchases, transportation and liquefaction fuel consumed to produce LNG. Since we procure most of our feedstock for LNG production from the U.S., the structure of these contracts helps limit our exposure to fluctuations in U.S. natural gas prices. Through our SPAs and IPM agreement, we have contracted approximately 80% of the total anticipated production from the Liquefaction Project with approximately 14 years of weighted average remaining life as of September 30, 2024, excluding volumes that are contractually subject to additional liquefaction capacity beyond what is currently in construction or operation.
We remain focused on safety, operational excellence and customer satisfaction. Increasing demand for LNG has allowed us to expand our liquefaction infrastructure in a financially disciplined manner. We have increased available liquefaction capacity at our Liquefaction Project as a result of debottlenecking and other optimization projects. We believe these factors provide a foundation for additional growth in our portfolio of customer contracts in the future. We hold a significant land position at the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal, which provides opportunity for further liquefaction capacity expansion. We are developing an expansion adjacent to the Liquefaction Project with a total production capacity of up to approximately 20 mtpa of LNG, inclusive of estimated debottlenecking opportunities (the “SPL Expansion Project”). In February 2024, certain of our subsidiaries submitted an application to the FERC under the Natural Gas Act (the “NGA”) for authorization to site, construct and operate the SPL Expansion Project, as well as an application to the DOE requesting authorization to export LNG to FTA countries and non-FTA countries, both of which applications exclude debottlenecking. The development of the SPL Expansion Project or other projects, including infrastructure projects in support of natural gas supply and LNG demand, will require, among other things, acceptable commercial and financing arrangements before a positive FID is made.
Additionally, we are committed to the management of our most important ESG impacts, risks and opportunities. In August 2024, Cheniere published Energy Secured, Benefits Delivered, its fifth Corporate Responsibility (“CR”) report, which details its approach and progress on ESG matters. Cheniere’s CR report is available at cheniere.com/our-responsibility/reporting-center. Information on Cheniere’s website, including the CR report, is not incorporated by reference into this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
Overview of Significant Events
Our significant events since January 1, 2024 and through the filing date of this Form 10-Q include the following:
Strategic
•In February 2024, certain of our subsidiaries submitted an application to the FERC under the NGA for authorization to site, construct and operate the SPL Expansion Project, as well as an application to the DOE requesting authorization to export LNG to FTA countries and non-FTA countries, both of which applications exclude debottlenecking. In October 2024, the authorization from the DOE to export LNG to FTA countries was received.
Operational
•As of October 25, 2024, approximately 2,700 cumulative LNG cargoes totaling over 185 million tonnes of LNG have been produced, loaded and exported from the Liquefaction Project.
Financial
•On October 25, 2024, with respect to the third quarter of 2024, we declared a cash distribution of $0.810 per common unit to unitholders of record as of November 4, 2024, and the related general partner distribution, to be paid on November 14, 2024. These distributions consist of a base amount of $0.775 per unit and a variable amount of $0.035 per unit.
•In May 2024, we issued $1.2 billion aggregate principal amount of 5.750% Senior Notes due 2034 (the “2034 CQP Senior Notes”). In June 2024, the net proceeds, together with cash on hand, were used to retire $1.2 billion outstanding aggregate principal amount of SPL’s 5.625% Senior Secured Notes due 2025 (the “2025 SPL Senior Notes”).
•In May 2024, in connection with the 2034 CQP Senior Notes issuance, Moody’s Ratings (“Moody’s”) upgraded our issuer credit rating to Baa2 from Ba1 and revised our outlook to stable from positive. Moody’s also upgraded SPL’s issuer credit rating to Baa1 from Baa2 and revised SPL’s outlook to stable from positive.
•During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, SPL repaid $150 million and $450 million, respectively, of outstanding aggregate principal amounts of its senior secured notes.
Results of Operations
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Three Months Ended September 30, | | Nine Months Ended September 30, |
| (in millions, except per unit data) | 2024 | | 2023 | | Variance | | 2024 | | 2023 | | Variance |
| Revenues | | | | | | | | | | | |
| LNG revenues | $ | 1,479 | | | $ | 1,564 | | | $ | (85) | | | $ | 4,653 | | | $ | 5,085 | | | $ | (432) | |
| LNG revenues—affiliate | 526 | | | 515 | | | 11 | | | 1,441 | | | 1,745 | | | (304) | |
| | | | | | | | |
| Regasification revenues | 34 | | | 34 | | | — | | | 102 | | | 101 | | | 1 | |
| | | | | | | | |
| Other revenues | 16 | | | 15 | | | 1 | | | 48 | | | 47 | | | 1 | |
| | | | | | | | |
| Total revenues | 2,055 | | | 2,128 | | | (73) | | | 6,244 | | | 6,978 | | | (734) | |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Operating costs and expenses | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Cost of sales (excluding items shown separately below) | 773 | | | 682 | | | 91 | | | 2,398 | | | 1,598 | | | 800 | |
| Cost of sales—affiliate | — | | | 2 | | | (2) | | | 4 | | | 20 | | | (16) | |
| | | | | | | | |
| Operating and maintenance expense | 200 | | | 211 | | | (11) | | | 610 | | | 680 | | | (70) | |
| Operating and maintenance expense—affiliate | 41 | | | 38 | | | 3 | | | 123 | | | 120 | | | 3 | |
| Operating and maintenance expense—related party | 15 | | | 14 | | | 1 | | | 44 | | | 44 | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| General and administrative expense | 2 | | | 2 | | | — | | | 8 | | | 8 | | | — | |
| General and administrative expense—affiliate | 23 | | | 20 | | | 3 | | | 68 | | | 66 | | | 2 | |
| Depreciation and amortization expense | 171 | | | 166 | | | 5 | | | 509 | | | 500 | | | 9 | |
| Other operating costs and expenses | 2 | | | 4 | | | (2) | | | 10 | | | 6 | | | 4 | |
| Other operating costs and expenses—affiliate | 1 | | | 1 | | | — | | | 2 | | | 1 | | | 1 | |
| Total operating costs and expenses | 1,228 | | | 1,140 | | | 88 | | | 3,776 | | | 3,043 | | | 733 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Income from operations | 827 | | | 988 | | | (161) | | | 2,468 | | | 3,935 | | | (1,467) | |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Other income (expense) | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Interest expense, net of capitalized interest | (199) | | | (205) | | | 6 | | | (603) | | | (620) | | | 17 | |
| Loss on modification or extinguishment of debt | — | | | (4) | | | 4 | | | (3) | | | (6) | | | 3 | |
| Interest and dividend income | 7 | | | 12 | | | (5) | | | 25 | | | 39 | | | (14) | |
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| Total other expense | (192) | | | (197) | | | 5 | | | (581) | | | (587) | | | 6 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Net income | $ | 635 | | | $ | 791 | | | $ | (156) | | | $ | 1,887 | | | $ | 3,348 | | | $ | (1,461) | |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Basic and diluted net income per common unit | $ | 1.08 | | | $ | 1.19 | | | $ | (0.11) | | | $ | 3.21 | | | $ | 5.53 | | | $ | (2.32) | |
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Volumes loaded and recognized from the Liquefaction Project
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| Three Months Ended September 30, | | Nine Months Ended September 30, | |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| |
Net income
Net income declined by $156 million and $1.5 billion between the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, respectively, as compared to the same periods of 2023. The decline between the respective three and nine month periods was primarily attributable to unfavorable changes in fair value of derivatives of $215 million and $1.6 billion, respectively, principally attributable to our IPM agreement with Tourmaline Oil Marketing Corp, which decreased from $217 million and $1.5 billion during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, respectively, to $32 million and $238 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, respectively, due to the nonrecurrence of significant declines of historic volatility in international gas prices and moderated and sustained spot prices during the current periods relative to the same periods of 2023. The remaining unfavorable changes in fair value of derivatives of $30 million and $352 million during the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2024, respectively, as compared to the same periods of 2023 were primarily due to an unfavorable shift in long-term U.S. natural gas forward prices.
Partially offsetting the aforementioned unfavorable changes between the three month periods was an increase in LNG revenues, net of cost of sales excluding the aforementioned changes in fair value of derivatives, of $51 million due to an increase in production volume compared to the same period of 2023. Partially offsetting the aforementioned unfavorable changes between the nine month periods was a decrease in maintenance expense of $70 million due to reduced operating and maintenance activities compared to the same period of 2023.
The following is an additional discussion of the significant drivers of the variance in net income by line item:
Revenues
We had $73 million and $734 million decreases in revenues between the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, respectively, as compared to the same periods of 2023, which was primarily attributable to $137 million and $997 million decreases, respectively, from lower pricing per MMBtu as a result of declining Henry Hub pricing, partially offset by $82 million and $287 million increases, respectively, from higher production volume largely due to reduced maintenance activities compared to the same periods of 2023 and cooler weather.
Operating costs and expenses
The increases in operating costs and expenses of $88 million and $733 million between the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, respectively, as compared to the same periods of 2023, was primarily attributable to $215 million and $1.6 billion unfavorable variances, respectively, over the same periods from changes in fair value of derivatives included in cost of sales, as discussed above under Net income. The unfavorable variances were partially offset by $125 million and $766 million decreases between the comparative three and nine month periods, respectively, in cost of sales excluding the effect of derivative changes, primarily as a result of $99 million and $661 million decreases, respectively, in cost of natural gas feedstock largely due to lower U.S. natural gas prices.
Significant factor affecting our results of operations
Below is a significant factor that affects our results of operations.
Gains and losses on derivative instruments
Derivative instruments are utilized to manage our exposure to commodity-related marketing and price risks and are reported at fair value on our Consolidated Financial Statements. For commodity derivative instruments related to our IPM agreements, the underlying LNG sales being economically hedged are accounted for under the accrual method of accounting, whereby revenues expected to be derived from the future LNG sales are recognized only upon delivery or realization of the underlying transaction. Notwithstanding the operational intent to mitigate risk exposure over time, the recognition of derivative instruments at fair value has the effect of recognizing gains or losses relating to future period exposure, and given the significant volumes, long-term duration and volatility in price basis for certain of our derivative contracts, the use of derivative instruments may result in continued volatility of our results of operations based on changes in market pricing, counterparty credit risk and other relevant factors that may be outside of our control. For example, as described in Note 6—Derivative Instruments of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, the fair value of the Liquefaction Supply Derivatives incorporates, as applicable, market participant-based assumptions pertaining to certain contractual uncertainties, including those
related to the availability of market information for delivery points, which may require future development of infrastructure, as well as the timing of satisfaction of certain events or development of infrastructure to support natural gas gathering and transport. We may recognize changes in fair value through earnings that could significantly impact our results of operations if and when such uncertainties are resolved.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The following information describes our ability to generate and obtain adequate amounts of cash to meet our requirements in the short term and the long term. In the short term, we expect to meet our cash requirements using operating cash flows and available liquidity, consisting of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and cash equivalents and available commitments under our credit facilities. Additionally, we expect to meet our long term cash requirements by using operating cash flows and other future potential sources of liquidity, which may include debt offerings by us or our subsidiaries and equity offerings by us. The table below provides a summary of our available liquidity (in millions). Future material sources of liquidity are discussed below.
| | | | | |
| September 30, 2024 |
|
|
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 331 | |
Restricted cash and cash equivalents designated for the Liquefaction Project | 80 | |
|
| Available commitments under our credit facilities (1): | |
|
SPL Revolving Credit Facility | 766 | |
CQP Revolving Credit Facility | 1,000 | |
|
| Total available commitments under our credit facilities | 1,766 | |
| |
| Total available liquidity | $ | 2,177 | |
(1)Available commitments represent total commitments less loans outstanding and letters of credit issued under each of our credit facilities as of September 30, 2024. See Note 8—Debt of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on our credit facilities and other debt instruments.
Although our sources and uses of cash are presented below from a consolidated standpoint, we and our subsidiary SPL operate with independent capital structures. Certain restrictions or requirements under debt instruments executed by SPL limit its ability to distribute cash, including the following:
•SPL is required to deposit all cash received into restricted cash and cash equivalents accounts under certain of their debt agreements. The usage or withdrawal of such cash is restricted to the payment of liabilities related to the Liquefaction Project and other restricted payments. In addition, SPL’s operating costs are managed by subsidiaries of Cheniere under affiliate agreements, which may require SPL to advance cash to the respective affiliates; and
•SPL is restricted by affirmative and negative covenants included in certain of its debt agreements in its ability to make certain payments, including distributions, unless specific requirements are satisfied.
Despite the restrictions noted above, we believe that sufficient flexibility exists to enable each independent capital structure to meet its currently anticipated cash requirements. The sources of liquidity at SPL primarily fund the cash requirements of SPL, and any remaining liquidity not subject to restriction, as supplemented by liquidity provided by our other operations, is available to enable CQP to meet its cash requirements.
Supplemental Guarantor Information
Certain debt obligations of CQP (the “Guaranteed Obligations”) consist of the CQP Revolving Credit Facility, $1.5 billion of 4.500% Senior Notes due 2029, $1.5 billion of 4.000% Senior Notes due 2031, $1.2 billion of 3.25% Senior Notes due 2032, $1.4 billion of 5.950% Senior Notes due 2033 and the 2034 CQP Senior Notes (collectively, the “CQP Senior Notes”), all of which are jointly and severally guaranteed by certain subsidiaries of CQP, as prescribed within the respective debt agreements (each a “Guarantor” and collectively, the “CQP Guarantors”).
The CQP Guarantors’ guarantees of such obligations are full and unconditional, subject to certain release provisions including, as applicable, (1) the sale, disposition or transfer (by merger, consolidation or otherwise) of the capital stock or all or substantially all of the assets of a Guarantor, (2) the liquidation or dissolution of a Guarantor, (3) following the release of a Guarantor from another guarantee that resulted in the creation of its guarantee of the Guaranteed Obligation and (4) the legal defeasance or satisfaction and discharge of obligations under the indenture governing the CQP Senior Notes. In the event of a default in payment of the principal or interest by us, whether at maturity of the respective debt obligation or by declaration of acceleration, call for redemption or otherwise, legal proceedings may be instituted against the CQP Guarantors to enforce the guarantee.
The Guaranteed Obligations contain affirmative and negative covenants that are customary for the respective debt instrument, including, with limited exceptions, restrictions on CQP’s and the CQP Guarantors’ ability to incur additional indebtedness and/or liens, enter into hedging arrangements and/or engage in transactions with affiliates. The Guaranteed Obligations also include events of default that are customary for the respective debt instrument, which are subject to customary grace periods and materiality standards.
The rights of holders of the Guaranteed Obligations against the CQP Guarantors may be limited under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or state fraudulent transfer or conveyance law. Each guarantee contains a provision intended to limit the CQP Guarantor’s liability to the maximum amount that it could incur without causing the incurrence of obligations under its guarantee to be a fraudulent conveyance or transfer under U.S. federal or state law. However, there can be no assurance as to what standard a court will apply in making a determination of the maximum liability of the CQP Guarantors. Moreover, this provision may not be effective to protect the guarantee from being voided under fraudulent conveyance laws. There is a possibility that the entire guarantee may be set aside, in which case the entire liability may be extinguished.
The following tables include summarized financial information of CQP (the “Parent Issuer”), and the CQP Guarantors (together with the Parent Issuer, the “Obligor Group”) on a combined basis. Investments in and equity in the earnings of SPL and, subject to certain conditions governing its guarantee, Sabine Pass LP (collectively with SPL, the “Non-Guarantors”), which are not currently members of the Obligor Group, have been excluded. Intercompany balances and transactions between entities in the Obligor Group have been eliminated. Although the creditors of the Obligor Group have no claim against the Non-Guarantors, the Obligor Group may gain access to the assets of the Non-Guarantors upon bankruptcy, liquidation or reorganization of the Non-Guarantors due to its investment in these entities. However, such claims to the assets of the Non-Guarantors would be subordinated to any claims by the Non-Guarantors’ creditors, including trade creditors.
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| Summarized Balance Sheets (in millions) | | September 30, | | December 31, |
| |
| | 2024 | | 2023 |
| ASSETS | | | | |
| Current assets | | | | |
| |
| |
| |
| Current assets, net | | $ | 370 | | | $ | 614 | |
| Current assets—affiliate | | 85 | | | 86 | |
| Current assets with Non-Guarantors | | 40 | | | 56 | |
| Total current assets | | 495 | | | 756 | |
| | | | |
| |
| Non-current assets, net | | 3,043 | | | 3,025 | |
| Total assets | | $ | 3,538 | | | $ | 3,781 | |
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| LIABILITIES | | | | |
| Current liabilities | | | | |
| |
| |
| Current liabilities | | $ | 154 | | | $ | 155 | |
| Current liabilities—affiliate | | 34 | | | 46 | |
| Current liabilities due to Non-Guarantors | | 93 | | | 100 | |
| Total current liabilities | | 281 | | | 301 | |
| | | | |
| Long-term debt, net of premium, discount and debt issuance costs | | 6,729 | | | 5,542 | |
| |
| Other non-current liabilities | | 142 | | | 81 | |
| Non-current liabilities—affiliate | | 17 | | | 18 | |
| Total liabilities | | $ | 7,169 | | | $ | 5,942 | |
| | | | | | | | |
| Summarized Statement of Operations (in millions) | | Nine Months Ended September 30, 2024 |
| | |
| Revenues | | $ | 150 | |
Revenues from Non-Guarantors | | 409 | |
| Total revenues | | 559 | |
| | |
| Operating costs and expenses | | 198 | |
| Operating costs and expenses—affiliate | | 145 | |
Operating costs and expenses—Non-Guarantors | | 6 | |
| Total operating costs and expenses | | 349 | |
| | |
| Income from operations | | 210 | |
| Net income | | 1 | |
Sources and Uses of Cash
The following table summarizes the sources and uses of our cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash and cash equivalents (in millions). The table presents capital expenditures on a cash basis; therefore, these amounts differ from the amounts of capital expenditures, including accruals, which are referred to elsewhere in this report. Additional discussion of these items follows the table.
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| Nine Months Ended September 30, |
| 2024 | | 2023 |
| | |
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 2,092 | | | $ | 2,193 | |
| Net cash used in investing activities | (112) | | | (176) | |
| Net cash used in financing activities | (2,200) | | | (2,479) | |
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Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash and cash equivalents | $ | (220) | | | $ | (462) | |
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Operating Cash Flows
The $101 million decrease between the periods was primarily related to cash flows attributed to working capital, mainly due to differences in timing of payments to suppliers and cash collections from the sale of LNG cargoes.
Investing Cash Flows
Cash outflows for property, plant and equipment during the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 were primarily related to optimization and other site improvement projects.
Financing Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our financing activities (in millions):
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| | Nine Months Ended September 30, |
| | 2024 | | 2023 |
| Proceeds from issuances of debt | | $ | 1,228 | | | $ | 1,397 | |
| Redemptions and repayments of debt | | (1,680) | | | (1,650) | |
| Debt issuance and other financing costs | | (15) | | | (32) | |
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| Incentive Distribution Rights |
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| | 220 | |
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In addition, Tug Services distributed $8 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively, to Cheniere Terminals in accordance with their terminal marine service agreement, which is recognized as part of the distributions to the holder of our general partner interest.
On October 25, 2024, with respect to the third quarter of 2024, we declared a cash distribution of $0.810 per common unit to unitholders of record as of November 4, 2024, and the related general partner distribution, to be paid on November 14, 2024. These distributions consist of a base amount of $0.775 per unit and a variable amount of $0.035 per unit.
Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying notes. There have been no significant changes to our critical accounting estimates from those disclosed in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
Recent Accounting Standards
ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Marketing and Trading Commodity Price Risk
We have commodity derivatives consisting of natural gas supply contracts for the operation of the Liquefaction Project (the “Liquefaction Supply Derivatives”). In order to test the sensitivity of the fair value of the Liquefaction Supply Derivatives to changes in underlying commodity prices, management modeled a 10% change in the commodity price for natural gas for each delivery location as follows (in millions):
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| September 30, 2024 | | December 31, 2023 |
| Fair Value | | Change in Fair Value | | Fair Value | | Change in Fair Value |
Liquefaction Supply Derivatives | $ | (1,364) | | | $ | 334 | | | $ | (1,657) | | | $ | 362 | |
ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
We maintain a set of disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports filed by us under Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. As of the end of the period covered by this report, we evaluated, under the supervision and with the participation of our general partner’s management, including our general partner’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the
effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures pursuant to Rule 13a-15 of the Exchange Act. Based on that evaluation, our general partner’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective.
During the most recent fiscal quarter, there have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
We may in the future be involved as a party to various legal proceedings, which are incidental to the ordinary course of business. We regularly analyze current information and, as necessary, provide accruals for probable liabilities on the eventual disposition of these matters. There have been no material changes to the legal proceedings disclosed in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION
Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act provides an affirmative defense that enables prearranged transactions in securities in a manner that avoids concerns about initiating transactions at a future date while possibly in possession of material nonpublic information. Our Insider Trading Policy permits the directors and executive officers of our general partner to enter into trading plans designed to comply with Rule 10b5-1. During the three-month period ending September 30, 2024, none of the executive officers or directors of our general partner adopted or terminated a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan or adopted or terminated a non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement (as defined in Item 408(c) of Regulation S-K).
ITEM 6. EXHIBITS
| | | | | | | | | | |
| Exhibit No. | | Description | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| 22.1* | | | | |
| 31.1* | | | | |
| 31.2* | | | | |
| 32.1** | | | | |
| 32.2** | | | | |
| 101.INS* | | XBRL Instance Document | | |
| 101.SCH* | | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document | | |
| 101.CAL* | | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document | | |
| 101.DEF* | | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document | | |
| 101.LAB* | | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase Document | | |
| 101.PRE* | | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document | | |
| 104* | | Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101) | | |
| | | | | |
|
| * | Filed herewith. |
| ** | Furnished herewith. |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | CHENIERE ENERGY PARTNERS, L.P. |
| | By: | Cheniere Energy Partners GP, LLC, its general partner |
| | | |
| Date: | October 30, 2024 | By: | /s/ Zach Davis |
| | | Zach Davis |
| | | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
| | | (on behalf of the registrant and as principal financial officer) |
| | | |
| Date: | October 30, 2024 | By: | /s/ David Slack |
| | | David Slack |
| | | Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer |
| | | (on behalf of the registrant and as principal accounting officer) |
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