Cheniere Energy Inc. said Tuesday it has hired HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. and Petrie Parkman & Co. to assist the company in arranging project funding for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification facilities that it plans to build in Corpus Christi, TX, and Sabine Pass, LA.

“In the next 18 months, we are looking to arrange funding through a combination of debt and equity of approximately $1 billion for our LNG regasification facilities at Corpus Christi and Sabine Pass, and to provide support to Freeport LNG Development LP., in which we hold a 30% limited partnership interest,” said Charif Souki, chairman and CEO of Cheniere Energy, a Houston-based developer of LNG import terminals.

A top project finance advisor to the oil and natural gas industry, HSBC Securities’ project financial team in New York will lead the debt advisory effort, according to Cheniere Energy. The combined efforts of HSBC Securities and Petrie Parkman, an investment bank that offers advisory services to the energy industry, “will provide Cheniere with very strong financial advisory support to ensure we access the optimum financial and capital markets for our projects,” said Souki in a press statement.

The planned Corpus Christi and Sabine Pass LNG facilities, which are targeted for in-service in early 2007, each will have two docking berths, three storage tanks and 2.6 Bcf/d of peak vaporization capacity. Cheniere Energy has said both LNG plants are expected to be larger than any yet built in the United States. In May, the company awarded the front-end engineering design contract for the two facilities, and indicated that it expects to seek permits at FERC in January 2004.

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