Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Debt

v3.21.1
Debt
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2021
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]  
Debt DEBT
 
As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, our debt consisted of the following (in millions):
March 31, December 31,
2021 2020
Long-term debt:
SPL — 4.200% to 6.25% senior secured notes due between March 2022 and September 2037 and working capital facility (“2020 SPL Working Capital Facility”)
$ 12,797  $ 13,650 
Cheniere Partners — 4.000% to 5.625% senior notes due between October 2025 and March 2031 and credit facilities (“2019 CQP Credit Facilities”)
4,100  4,100 
Unamortized premium, discount and debt issuance costs, net (165) (170)
Total long-term debt, net 16,732  17,580 
Current debt:
SPL — current portion of 6.25% senior secured notes due March 2022 (“2022 SPL Senior Notes”) (1)
853  — 
Unamortized premium, discount and debt issuance costs, net (3) — 
Total current debt 850  — 
Total debt, net $ 17,582  $ 17,580 
(1)$147 million of the 2022 SPL Senior Notes is categorized as long-term debt because the proceeds from the expected sale of approximately $147 million aggregate principal amount of 2.95% Senior Secured Notes due 2037, expected to be issued in the second half of 2021 pursuant to a note purchase agreement entered into by SPL in February 2021, are expected to be used to refinance a portion of 2022 SPL Senior Notes.
Issuances and Redemptions

The following table shows the issuances and redemptions of long-term debt during the three months ended March 31, 2021 (in millions):
Issuances Principal Amount Issued
CQP — 4.000% Senior Notes due 2031 (the “2031 CQP Senior Notes”) (1)
$ 1,500 
Redemptions Amount Redeemed
CQP — 5.250% Senior Notes due 2025 (the “2025 CQP Senior Notes”) (1)
$ 1,500 
(1)Proceeds of the 2031 CQP Senior Notes, together with cash on hand, were used to redeem all of our outstanding 2025 CQP Senior Notes, resulting in the recognition of debt extinguishment costs of $54 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 relating to the payment of early redemption fees and write off of unamortized debt premium and issuance costs.

Credit Facilities

Below is a summary of our credit facilities outstanding as of March 31, 2021 (in millions):
2020 SPL Working Capital Facility (1) 2019 CQP Credit Facilities
Original facility size $ 1,200  $ 1,500 
Less:
Outstanding balance —  — 
Commitments prepaid or terminated —  750 
Letters of credit issued 413  — 
Available commitment $ 787  $ 750 
Priority ranking Senior secured Senior secured
Interest rate on available balance
LIBOR plus 1.125% - 1.750% or base rate plus 0.125% - 0.750%
LIBOR plus 1.25% - 2.125% or base rate plus 0.25% - 1.125%
Weighted average interest rate of outstanding balance n/a n/a
Maturity date March 19, 2025 May 29, 2024
(1)The 2020 SPL Working Capital Facility contains customary conditions precedent for extensions of credit, as well as customary affirmative and negative covenants. SPL pays a commitment fee equal to an annual rate of 0.1% to 0.3% (depending on the then-current rating of SPL), which accrues on the daily amount of the total commitment less the sum of (1) the outstanding principal amount of loans, (2) letters of credit issued and (3) the outstanding principal amount of swing line loans.

Restrictive Debt Covenants

The indentures governing our senior notes and other agreements underlying our debt contain customary terms and events of default and certain covenants that, among other things, may limit us and our restricted subsidiaries’ ability to make certain investments or pay dividends or distributions.

As of March 31, 2021, we and SPL were in compliance with all covenants related to our respective debt agreements.
Interest Expense

Total interest expense, net of capitalized interest consisted of the following (in millions):
Three Months Ended March 31,
2021 2020
Total interest cost $ 247  $ 254 
Capitalized interest (30) (20)
Total interest expense, net of capitalized interest $ 217  $ 234 

Fair Value Disclosures

The following table shows the carrying amount and estimated fair value of our debt (in millions):
March 31, 2021 December 31, 2020
  Carrying
Amount		 Estimated
Fair Value		 Carrying
Amount		 Estimated
Fair Value
Senior notes — Level 2 (1) $ 16,950  $ 18,680  $ 16,950  $ 19,113 
Senior notes — Level 3 (2) 800  953 800  1,036 
Credit facilities (3) —  —  —  — 
(1)The Level 2 estimated fair value was based on quotes obtained from broker-dealers or market makers of these senior notes and other similar instruments.
(2)The Level 3 estimated fair value was calculated based on inputs that are observable in the market or that could be derived from, or corroborated with, observable market data, including interest rates based on debt issued by parties with comparable credit ratings to us and inputs that are not observable in the market.
(3)The Level 3 estimated fair value approximates the principal amount because the interest rates are variable and reflective of market rates and the debt may be repaid, in full or in part, at any time without penalty.