Chadbourne & Parke LLP represented the lenders in connection with the US$11.5 billion senior debt financing for the Corpus Christi LNG Project.

The Corpus Christi LNG Project is sponsored by affiliates of Cheniere Energy, Inc. and is located on the La Quinta Channel on the northeast side of Corpus Christi Bay in San Patricio County, Texas. The project, when fully constructed, is expected to comprise three liquefaction trains with expected aggregate nominal production capacity of approximately 13.5 mmtpa, three full-containment LNG storage tanks with capacity of approximately 10.1 Bcfe, two LNG carrier docks and a 22-mile, 48″ natural gas supply pipeline, as well as all associated facilities. The estimated total capital cost of the project is US$15.4 billion.

The US$11.5 billion debt facility is being provided by a syndicate of 31 commercial banks and other financial institutions. Approximately US$3.1 billion of equity is expected to be provided by affiliates of Cheniere Energy, Inc., following separate capital raises from EIG Global Energy Partners and other sources. The remainder of the project’s capital cost will be funded from internal cash generation.

“Chadbourne has been privileged to have worked on three out of the four LNG liquefaction export projects in the US that have tapped external debt financing in the commercial banks, export credit agencies, and institutional investors markets,” said Noam Ayali, an energy project finance partner in Chadbourne’s Washington, DC office. “We are delighted to have had another opportunity to work with Cheniere Energy Inc. and Société Générale, its financial advisor, following the successful Sabine Pass LNG transaction, and to have advised the lenders to the Corpus Christi LNG Project on this groundbreaking transaction.”

“Leveraging our natural gas and LNG infrastructure expertise, and our understanding of lenders’ requirements in these transactions were instrumental to achieving successful closing,” noted Ben Koenigsberg, an energy and project finance partner in Chadbourne’s New York office. “The transaction required contributions from numerous practice groups throughout the firm and we were all fortunate to have had the opportunity to represent the multitude of financial institutions that will support the Corpus Christi LNG Project.”

Mr. Ayali and Mr. Koenigsberg led the Chadbourne team working on the project, which also included partners Marissa Alcala, Marjorie Glover, William Greason, Richard Leder, and Theodore Zink, counsels Scott Bank, Donna Bobbish, Susan Cowell, Kenneth Johnson, Christy Rivera, and Monika Szymanski, and associates Rebecca Abou-Chedid, Christine Brozynski, Kirsten Carlson, Ginger Collier, Ekin Inal, Carol James, Kevin Prokup, and Tae Sang Yoo.

In addition to the Corpus Christi LNG Project, Chadbourne has served as lenders’ counsel on the financing of the first four trains of the Sabine Pass LNG Liquefaction Project, the financing of Train 2 of the Freeport LNG Project, and the financing of Train 3 of the Freeport LNG Project, and is currently acting as counsel in connection with ongoing financing transactions for other active LNG liquefaction export projects.