James Smith, director of Public Citizen-Texas, a watchdog group specializing in energy issues, said the LNG deal appeared to be "another classic example of Bush family cronyism paying off." Texas law, he said, requires that such contracts be put out to public bid and mandates open competition to ensure that insiders don't get special treatment.
Crest Investment is headed by Jamal Daniel, a wealthy, longtime friend. Daniel did not respond to requests for comment.
When Bush remarried last year, Daniel hosted the wedding reception at his Houston home. Daniel and others at Crest arranged a rent-free cottage for Bush for about five years in Kennebunkport, Maine, to spend time near members of his extended family.
Crest executives have supported George W. Bush in his political campaigns and have Washington contacts. Daniel is a friend of Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, according to harbor commission memos. Dee Osborne, a Crest executive, was a guest on a 2002 U.S. trade mission to Chile and Peru led by Commerce Secretary Don Evans.
The Quintana project ended up being among the first to benefit from regulatory changes at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that streamlined federal permitting, relaxed financial reviews and, critics contend, made it easier to meet safety standards.
The chronology of events that led to Crest's arrangement with the harbor commission is laid out in its records and in court papers from a lawsuit filed by a competitor and eventual partner.
Crest and Cheniere Energy, a Texas firm with experience in LNG, started discussions in early 2000 about a joint venture to build an LNG facility. After George W. Bush's election, negotiations picked up. Cheniere provided Crest with a detailed, "confidential" briefing on its plans, according to court records.
Cheniere approached the harbor commission with its proposal in early 2001. Without telling Cheniere, Crest approached the commission separately with a similar proposal, according to court records. Commission officials signed a confidentiality agreement with each company.
The commission scheduled a meeting with Cheniere representatives for March 22, 2001, but abruptly canceled it. The next day, the commission convened an emergency session to meet with Crest representatives, who were given an exclusive, three-year lease option on the land.
Cheniere filed suit, but the two companies settled by joining forces on the project. Eventually other partners were added, and the Freeport LNG consortium was formed.
