| RESTRICTED CASH
Restricted cash consists of funds that are contractually restricted as to usage or withdrawal and have been presented separately from cash and cash equivalents on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. As of March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, restricted cash consisted of the following (in millions):
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March 31, |
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December 31, |
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2019 |
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2018 |
Current restricted cash |
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Liquefaction Project |
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$ |
621 |
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$ |
756 |
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Cash held by us and our guarantor subsidiaries |
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676 |
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785 |
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Total current restricted cash |
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$ |
1,297 |
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$ |
1,541 |
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Pursuant to the accounts agreement entered into with the collateral trustee for the benefit of SPL’s debt holders, SPL is required to deposit all cash received into reserve accounts controlled by the collateral trustee. The usage or withdrawal of such cash is restricted to the payment of liabilities related to the Liquefaction Project and other restricted payments.
Under our credit facilities (the “CQP Credit Facilities”), we and each of our subsidiaries other than (1) SPL and (2) certain of our subsidiaries owning other development projects, as well as certain other specified subsidiaries and members of the foregoing entities, as our guarantor subsidiaries, are subject to limitations on the use of cash under the terms of the CQP Credit Facilities and the related depositary agreement governing the extension of credit to us. Specifically, we may only withdraw funds from collateral accounts held at a designated depositary bank on a limited basis and for specific purposes, including for the payment of our operating expenses and the operating expenses of our guarantor subsidiaries. In addition, distributions and capital expenditures may only be made quarterly and are subject to certain restrictions.
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