Exhibit 10.12
GUARANTY AGREEMENT
From
CHEVRONTEXACO
CORPORATION
to
SABINE PASS LNG,
L.P.
GUARANTY AGREEMENT
THIS GUARANTY
AGREEMENT, is made and
entered into as of December 15, 2004, by CHEVRONTEXACO
CORPORATION (“ ChevronTexaco ”), a
corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of
Delaware, to SABINE PASS LNG L.P., a limited partnership organized
under the laws of Delaware (“ Sabine Pass
”),
WITNESSETH
WHEREAS, Sabine Pass has entered
into that certain Terminal Use Agreement dated as of
November 8, 2004 with Chevron U.S.A. Inc., a corporation
incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania;
and
WHEREAS, the ChevronTexaco
Subsidiary is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ChevronTexaco;
and
WHEREAS, it is a condition precedent
to the effectiveness of the TUA that certain of the ChevronTexaco
Subsidiary’s obligations thereunder be guaranteed by
ChevronTexaco in accordance with and subject to the provisions of
this Guaranty Agreement;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of
the premises ChevronTexaco does hereby covenant and agree with
Sabine Pass, as follows:
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS
Section 1.1.
Definitions . Except as
otherwise expressly provided or unless the context otherwise
requires, the terms defined in this Section 1.1 shall, for all
purposes of this Guaranty Agreement, have the meanings herein
specified, the following definitions to be equally applicable to
both the singular and plural forms of any of the terms herein
defined:
Banking Day
The term “Banking Day”
shall mean any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or any other day
on which commercial banks in New York or California are authorized
or required to be closed.
ChevronTexaco
The term “ChevronTexaco”
shall mean ChevronTexaco Corporation, a Delaware corporation, until
a successor corporation shall have become such pursuant to the
applicable provisions hereof, and thereafter ChevronTexaco shall
mean such successor corporation.
ChevronTexaco
Subsidiary
The term “ChevronTexaco
Subsidiary” shall mean Chevron U.S.A. Inc., a corporation
incorporated under the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, until a
successor corporation shall have become such pursuant to the
applicable provisions of the TUA, and thereafter the ChevronTexaco
Subsidiary shall mean such successor corporation
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Guaranty Agreement
The term “Guaranty
Agreement” shall mean this Guaranty Agreement dated as of
December 15, 2004, as originally executed or as it may from
time to time be supplemented, modified or amended as provided
herein
Guaranteed
Obligations
The term “Guaranteed
Obligations” shall have the meaning accorded such term in
Section 3.1 of this Guaranty Agreement.
Maximum Guaranteed
Amount
The term “Maximum Guaranteed
Amount” shall mean, as of any date, an amount equal to
“MGA” where.
MGA = [(Q x R x T) x 80%)-
F
Where:
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Q =
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ChevronTexaco
Subsidiary’s Maximum LNG Reception Quantity under the
TUA;
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R =
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thirty-two
cents ($0 32); T = twenty (20); and
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F =
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the cumulative
amount of Fees paid by the ChevronTexaco Subsidiary under the
TUA
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Sabine Pass
The term “Sabine Pass”
shall mean Sabine Pass LNG, L.P., a limited partnership organized
under the laws of the State of Delaware, or its permitted successor
or assign pursuant to the TUA..
TUA
The term “TUA” shall
mean the Terminal Use Agreement dated as of November 8, 2004,
between the ChevronTexaco Subsidiary and Sabine Pass, as such TUA
was originally executed or as it may from time to time be
supplemented, modified or amended as provided therein
Section 1.2. Other Defined
Terms . Capitalized terms
not otherwise defined in this Guaranty Agreement shall have the
meanings ascribed thereto in the TUA.
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ARTICLE II
REPRESENTATIONS OF
CHEVRONTEXACO
Section 2.1. Representations
of ChevronTexaco .
ChevronTexaco makes the following representations to the Guaranteed
Parties:
(a) ChevronTexaco has been duly
organized and is validly existing under the laws of the State of
Delaware, has full legal right, power and authority to enter into
this Guaranty Agreement and to carry out and consummate all
transactions contemplated by this Guaranty Agreement, and by proper
corporate action has duly authorized the execution and delivery of
this Guaranty Agreement.
(b) The execution and delivery of
this Guaranty Agreement and the consummation of the transactions
herein contemplated will not conflict with or constitute on the
part of ChevronTexaco a breach of or default under its Restated
Certificate of Incorporation, as amended to the date hereof, its
By-Laws, as amended to the date hereof, or any indenture, or other
material agreement or instrument to which ChevronTexaco is a party
or by which it or its properties are bound or any order, rule or
regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having
jurisdiction over ChevronTexaco or any of its activities or
properties.
(c) This Guaranty Agreement has been
duly authorized, executed and delivered by ChevronTexaco and
constitutes the valid and binding obligation of
ChevronTexaco.
(d) ChevronTexaco has made available
to Sabine Pass ChevronTexaco’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 31, 2003 and its Quarterly Reports on
Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31 and June 30,
2004 and its Current Reports on Form &K dated July 29,
2004, July 30, 2004 and October 29, 2004 filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (collectively, the “
ChevronTexaco Reports ”). ChevronTexaco’s
Quarterly Report on form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30,
2004 was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
August 4, 2004 The ChevronTexaco Reports at and as of their
respective dates do not include any untrue statement of a material
fact nor omit to state any material fact required to be stated
therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading
in light of the circumstances under which they were made. Since
June 30, 2004, there has been no material adverse change in
the financial condition of ChevronTexaco and its consolidated
subsidiaries taken as a whole.
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ARTICLE III
GUARANTY AND
AGREEMENTS
Section 3.1.
Guaranty . The Guarantor
absolutely, unconditionally and irrevocably guarantees to Sabine
Pass the full and prompt payment by the ChevronTexaco Subsidiary of
all of its payment obligations under the TUA to Sabine Pass and its
successors and permitted assigns from and after the Commercial
Start Date, including payment obligations in respect of any breach
of the TUA by the ChevronTexaco Subsidiary; provided, however,
(a) the Guarantor shall be entitled to all defenses,
counterclaims and rights of set off and recoupment that the
ChevronTexaco Subsidiary may have under the TUA other than any such
defenses based on (1) failure of consideration supporting the
TUA, (ii) the Company’s lack of authority to execute or
deliver the TUA or to perform its obligations thereunder, and
(iii) any defense arising out of the bankruptcy, insolvency or
similar proceeding concerning the ChevronTexaco Subsidiary; and
(b) the Guarantors aggregate liability in respect of the
obligations guaranteed hereunder shall be the Maximum Guaranteed
Amount (the obligations guaranteed under this Guaranty, subject to
this proviso, are hereinafter referred to as the “Guaranteed
Obligations”).
Section 32. Unconditional
Nature of Obligations .
The obligations of ChevronTexaco under this Guaranty Agreement
shall be absolute, irrevocable and unconditional and shall remain
in full force and effect until the entire Guaranteed Obligations
shall have been paid, and such obligations shall not be affected,
modified or impaired upon the happening from time to time of any
event, including without limitation any of the following, whether
or not with notice to, or the consent of, ChevronTexaco.
(a) the waiver, surrender,
compromise, settlement, release or termination of any or all of the
obligations, covenants