Chanos v Icahn has been discussed on these threads for a while.
Sabine Pass is circa 75% take or pay. Corpus Christi around 50%.
Chanos I dont think has said he doesnt believe in the take or pay or that customers will break these. His thesis is that Cheniere Marketing will have a hard time selling the remaining capacity on the spot market given world LNG oversupply.
Given Corpus christi is not due to come online till around 2019 Chanos is taking a pretty big punt on the dynamics of the LNG trade market.
In any case, the fear of Cheniere going bankrupt is way overblown. The debt is at the project level anyway- no recourse to the listed entity.
Santos' GLNG just recently came on line- commissioning cargoes were sold into the Asian market- they recently had 20 bids for five cargoes apparently according to the AFR so no shortage of those wanting spot market gas.
As noted the LNG market is expected to diverge between utilites on 20 year deals and traders wanting more spot based cargoes with destination flexibility and differing pricing mechanisms.
And no shortage of buyers for Santos' interest in PNG LNG, or for Santos itself.
I think a lot of energy players are not blinded by short term market dynamics like the market is obsessed with.
LNG Price at posting:
$1.60 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
