Cheniere Energy, Inc. (LNG – Snapshot Report) plans to raise $11.5 billion in debt for its Corpus Christi export facility and has engaged 18 financial institutions for the same. Following the announcement, shares of Cheniere gained around 1.5% on the NYSE.
The company plans to use the funds for development of its Corpus Christi Liquefaction Project in Texas. The project is likely to cost between $11.5 billion and $12.0 billion. Corpus Christi Liquefaction, LLC, an affiliate of Cheniere Energy, is developing this facility. The liquefied natural gas (LNG- Snapshot Report) export terminal will have provision for 3 trains and LNG production capacity of around 13.5 million tons per annum.
The company added that it has received the required amount of equity and debt commitments for the project. Construction work on the project is expected to start in early 2015 and be completed by 2018.
The 18 financial institutions include Bank of America, BNP Paribas Securities, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, ING Capital, Intesa Sanpaolo, JPMorgan Chase, Lloyds Bank, Mizuho Bank, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Canada, The Bank of Nova Scotia, Société Générale, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Standard Chartered Bank, and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.
Cheniere Energy has recently inked long-term deals with three units of Kinder Morgan, Inc (KMI – Analyst Report). The firms have signed 15-year transportation and multi-year storage contracts. Per the terms of the contracts, Kinder Morgan would provide transportation service for 550,000 dekatherms of natural gas per day and storage services for 3 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
Houston, TX based Cheniere Energy is primarily engaged in LNG-related businesses. Currently, Cheniere Energy holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Other stocks worth considering from the broader energy space include Seadrill Partners LLC (SDLP – Snapshot Report) and SandRidge Mississippian Trust I (SDT –Snapshot Report). Both these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
