OIL: Sheiks Who Wear the Star

Sheiks Who Wear the Star

Long the world's leading exporter of crude, Saudi Arabia now wants more of the profits its oil generates -- from the ground to the gas tank. The Saudi government has agreed to pay $1.2 billion for a 50% interest in Texaco's refining and marketing operations in 23 U.S. states, mostly in the East. If the deal is approved by both governments and Texaco's shareholders, it would represent the largest Arab investment in the U.S. oil industry.

The Saudi money would reduce Texaco's $10.4 billion debt and perhaps help ward off a takeover by Carl Icahn. In fact, the proposed pact was...

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