VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES ("VIE") (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES [Abstract]

The following table gives a summary of the sale and leaseback arrangements, including repurchase options and obligations as of December 31, 2017:



Vessel	Effective from	Sales value (in $ millions)	First repurchase option (in $ millions)	Date of first repurchase option	Repurchase obligation at end of lease term (in $ millions)	End of lease term
Golar Glacier	October 2014	204.0	173.8	October 2019	142.7	October 2024
Golar Kelvin	January 2015	204.0	173.8	January 2020	142.7	January 2025
Golar Snow	January 2015	204.0	173.8	January 2020	142.7	January 2025
Golar Ice	February 2015	204.0	173.8	February 2020	142.7	February 2025
Golar Tundra	November 2015	254.6	168.7	November 2018	76.4	November 2025
Golar Seal	March 2016	203.0	132.8	March 2021	87.4	March 2026
Golar Crystal	March 2017	187.0	97.3	March 2020	50.6	March 2027

Summary of the bareboat charter rates per day based on Base LIBOR Interest Rate for the next five years

A summary of our payment obligations (excluding repurchase options and obligations) under the bareboat charters with the lessor VIEs as of December 31, 2017, are shown below:



(in $ thousands)	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023+
Golar Glacier	17,100	17,100	17,147	17,100	17,100	29,985
Golar Kelvin	17,100	17,100	17,147	17,100	17,100	32,795
Golar Snow	17,100	17,100	17,147	17,100	17,100	32,795
Golar Ice	17,100	17,100	17,147	17,100	17,100	35,700
Golar Tundra ⁽¹⁾	24,545	23,360	22,260	21,136	20,067	51,286
Golar Seal	15,151	15,193	15,151	15,151	15,151	45,495
Golar Crystal⁽¹⁾	12,151	11,925	11,718	11,471	11,266	45,522

(1) The payment obligations relating to the Golar Tundra and Golar Crystal above include variable rental payments due under the lease based on an assumed LIBOR plus a margin.

Schedule of assets and liabilities of lessor VIEs

The assets and liabilities of the lessor VIEs that most significantly impact our consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, are as follows:



(in $ thousands)	Golar Glacier	Golar Kelvin	Golar Snow	Golar Ice	Golar Tundra	Golar Seal	Golar Crystal	2017	2016
Assets								Total	Total
Restricted cash and short-term deposits (see note 18)	16,179	53,003	16,379	8	38,514	3,778	2,202	130,063	70,021

Liabilities
Debt:
Short-term interest bearing debt (see note 23)	31,659	182,540	22,393	134,954	198,613	143,849	104,006	818,014	388,628
Long-term interest bearing debt - current portion (see note 23)	7,650	—	8,000	—	—	—	—	15,650	21,532
Long-term interest bearing debt - non-current portion (see note 23)^*	121,586	—	131,105	—	—	—	—	252,691	624,384
	160,895	182,540	161,498	134,954	198,613	143,849	104,006	1,086,355	1,034,544

*These balances are net of deferred finance charges

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the significant judgments and assumptions made in determining whether a variable interest (as defined) held by the entity requires the variable interest entity (VIE) (as defined) to be consolidated and (or) disclose information about its involvement with the VIE, individually or in aggregate (as applicable); the nature of restrictions, if any, on the consolidated VIE's assets and on the settlement of its liabilities reported by an entity in its statement of financial position, including the carrying amounts of such assets and liabilities; the nature of, and changes in, the risks associated with involvement in the VIE; how involvement with the VIE affects the entity's financial position, financial performance, and cash flows; the lack of recourse if creditors (or beneficial interest holders) of the consolidated VIE have no recourse to the general credit of the primary beneficiary (if applicable); the terms of arrangements, giving consideration to both explicit arrangements and implicit variable interests, if any, that could require the entity to provide financial support to the VIE, including events or circumstances that could expose the entity to a loss; the methodology used by the entity for determining whether or not it is the primary beneficiary of the variable interest entity; the significant factors considered and judgments made in determining that the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance are shared (as defined); the carrying amounts and classification of assets and liabilities of the VIE included in the statement of financial position; the entity's maximum exposure to loss, if any, as a result of its involvement with the VIE, including how the maximum exposure is determined and significant sources of the entity's exposure to the VIE; a comparison of the carrying amounts of the assets and liabilities and the entity's maximum exposure to loss; information about any liquidity arrangements, guarantees, and (or) other commitments by third parties that may affect the fair value or risk of the entity's variable interest in the VIE; whether or not the entity has provided financial support or other support (explicitly or implicitly) to the VIE that it was not previously contractually required to provide or whether the entity intends to provide that support, including the type and amount of the support and the primary reasons for providing the support; and supplemental information the entity determines necessary to provide.

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