It absolutely was. In the event that breakthroughs happened and it became viable faster than expected, the backup plan was to get the hydrogen from fossil fuels to make sure the industry would still get its cut.
Back when the Bush admin was hyping this stuff they managed to get the media to talk mostly about electrolysis of water using solar power. They would talk about how only water comes out the tailpipe, and the symmetry of being able to reuse water to make more fuel was extremely appealing to the credulous minds of the public.
Nothing has really changed either, 20 years later and laypeople still don't have better information about this technology...
