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Long-Term Debt - Senior Notes (Details) (USD $)
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9 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended | 1 Months Ended | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Sep. 30, 2012
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Sep. 30, 2011
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Sep. 30, 2012
Sabine Pass LNG, LP
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Sep. 30, 2011
Sabine Pass LNG, LP
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Sep. 30, 2012
Sabine Pass LNG, LP
Senior Notes
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Dec. 31, 2011
Sabine Pass LNG, LP
Senior Notes
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Nov. 30, 2006
Sabine Pass LNG, LP
Senior Notes
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Nov. 30, 2006
Sabine Pass LNG, LP
Senior Notes
2013 Senior Notes
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Sep. 30, 2008
Sabine Pass LNG, LP
Senior Notes
2016 Senior Notes
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Nov. 30, 2006
Sabine Pass LNG, LP
Senior Notes
2016 Senior Notes
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| Debt Instrument [Line Items] | ||||||||||
| Aggregate principal amount of debt | $ 2,215,500,000 | $ 2,032,000,000 | $ 550,000,000 | $ 1,482,000,000 | ||||||
| Debt instrument stated interest rate (percent) | 7.25% | 7.50% | ||||||||
| Additional debt issued | 183,500,000 | |||||||||
| Debt instrument redemption price (percent) | 100.00% | |||||||||
| Percentage of debt principal (percent) | 1.00% | |||||||||
| Additional basis points | 0.50% | |||||||||
| Deposit requirement, percentage of semi-annual interest payment | 16.67% | |||||||||
| Semi-annual interest payment | 82,400,000 | |||||||||
| Fixed charge coverage ratio | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| Distributions made by Sabine Pass LNG | $ 40,696,000 | $ 34,704,000 | $ 182,900,000 | $ 231,700,000 | ||||||