In an internal memo, it was spelled out that Cheniere would be responsible for operational aspects of the project, and Crest -- Neil Bush's company -- would "handle the political permitting side."
Crest began working to get political support for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval of the project. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas, a Republican, was one of four members of Congress to sign a letter urging approval. Abraham's office at the Department of Energy lent its backing too.
On Dec. 12, 2002, the harbor commission agreed to the terms of a 30-year ground lease and development agreement with the partnership. However, two sticking points remained.
First, ExxonMobil lodged a protest, claiming it had the right of first refusal on some of the property. Harbor officials disputed ExxonMobil's claim and the pipeline company eventually chose not to exercise its option. The company declined to comment for this article.
Second, the deal did not comply with a state law that required the commission to solicit bids for any lease beyond 10 years. A commission attorney notified Cheniere that bids would have to be sought before a deal was finalized. Cheniere demanded and received $1 million in compensation for the change from the agency.
The harbor commission advertised for bids in late December and said that no other bids were received. When the final version of the lease was adopted, it was dated March 28, 2003.
The Quintana project is the first to benefit from an agreement by FERC and two other federal agencies, the Coast Guard and the Department of Transportation, to coordinate reviews of LNG permit applications. That was in addition to the benefits coming from streamlining the energy approval process.
Although the regulatory changes were adopted after the Freeport LNG consortium submitted its application, the relaxed rules were applied retroactively to the project.
In June, FERC approved the project and gave a five-year completion deadline to the developers, who are in the process of filing final plans with agencies.
When completed, the pipelines, holding facilities and other structures will cover about one quarter of Quintana Island -- and annual payments of $2 million to Neil Bush's friends and other stakeholders in Crest Investment will begin.
