Chapter 735 - 343: Hundred Billion Order

Murphy was not only the Senator from Pennsylvania but also the nominal leader of the Progressives.

As a result, Karen Miller’s influence on K Street was more potent than ever.

And Leo was the source of it all.

Maintaining her relationship with Leo and prioritizing his requests was not just a matter of loyalty to a former ally. It was essential for preserving her own place in Washington’s pyramid of power.

"Mobilize all our political connections. Call the senior staffers on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, contact our inside source at the Department of Energy’s export licensing office, and get in touch with the approval supervisor at the Federal Environmental Protection Agency."

Karen provided specific talking points.

"Tell them that Senator Murphy is paying close attention to recent energy export policies."

"Ask them if they’ve recently received any urgent, expedited approval requests from the major energy companies."

"Whatever it takes, no matter how much campaign funding you have to promise, get them to talk."

"I need to know which Congressional offices the energy tycoons’ lobbying teams have visited in the past few days."

The team quickly got on the phones.

They flipped open their contact lists and started dialing.

"Logistics and Aviation Monitoring."

Karen looked toward a few tech geeks in the corner.

"I need you to track the flight paths of the private jets of the top ten energy company CEOs in the nation. Check the Federal Aviation Administration’s flight records."

"Focus your search on private business jets that have flown to Houston, New York, or the major European financial centers within the last three days."

"I need to know who these big bosses have been meeting with."

With her orders given, the entire Miller Political Consulting Company transformed into a vast intelligence-gathering machine.

The intelligence network in Washington was notoriously complex.

There were no absolute secrets in this city. Every transaction, every exchange of favors, left a trace.

Money flowed through banks, bills passed through bureaucrats, and the powerful traveled by plane to their meetings.

Karen’s team just had to assemble the puzzle of the truth from this sea of redundant information.

Karen returned to her office, standing before a massive whiteboard with a marker in hand.

Ten minutes later, the first lead came in.

The head of the aviation monitoring team walked in.

"Boss, we’ve found anomalies in the flight patterns." The supervisor taped a printed flight map to the whiteboard. "In the past forty-eight hours, the private jets of several core directors of the National Energy Association have all flown to Houston."

"Additionally, we found three chartered jets from Europe in the logs for the VIP terminal at Houston International Airport."

"Registration data shows they belong to top energy trading consortiums from Germany and the United Kingdom."

Karen wrote "Houston" and "European consortiums" on the whiteboard.

"They held an international meeting," Karen deduced.

Moments later, the head of the Capitol Hill liaison team strode into the office.

"We have a major breakthrough," the team lead said, his expression grim. "I contacted a senior director at the Department of Energy’s export licensing office."

"He revealed that just yesterday afternoon, they received a joint, expedited application from several natural gas companies in Pennsylvania."

"The application is to expand the throughput quota for the LNG export terminals along the Delaware River. What’s more, it came with a direct endorsement from a high-ranking Republican, demanding it be fast-tracked."

Karen wrote "LNG export terminals" and "expand quota" on the whiteboard.

The head of the financial tracking team burst in, not even bothering to knock.

"Boss! I’ve got it! A transaction of astronomical proportions!"

The supervisor spread several pages of reports, filled with data and charts, across Karen’s desk.

"We found an unusual financing guarantee agreement by digging into the ownership structure of an offshore shell company registered in Delaware."

"Several shale gas giants from Pennsylvania jointly formed an export consortium. They signed a long-term supply contract with two European multinational energy trading companies."

The supervisor was breathing heavily.

"The contract stipulates that over the next five years, the vast majority of natural gas extracted from Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale will be converted into LNG and exported entirely to Europe and Asia."

"This is an irrevocable strategic agreement."

"What’s the total value of the contract?" Karen asked instantly.

"The initial estimate is over 120 billion US dollars," the supervisor replied. "They’ve secured bridge financing through several top Wall Street investment banks. This deal is enough to triple the profits of these energy giants by next quarter."

Karen stood before the whiteboard, looking at the leads she had written down.

The secret meeting in Houston, the expanded export terminal quota, the 120-billion-dollar overseas natural gas deal.

All the pieces of the puzzle snapped perfectly into place.

These greedy energy tycoons had found an incredibly lucrative market.

Europe was desperate for natural gas due to the geopolitical crisis, while buyers in Asia were waving their checkbooks, purchasing massive quantities to guarantee their energy security.

Faced with a hundred-billion-dollar overseas deal, the Computing Power Special Zone and nuclear plant restart project proposed by Leo Wallace had instantly lost their appeal.

Restarting a nuclear power plant was a massive capital black hole.

It would require a very long construction period, face protests from environmental groups, and involve the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s incredibly tedious approval process.

The returns were stable, but the money would come in far too slowly.