Chevrontexaco Corp

The Bush administration Friday awarded contracts to ChevronTexaco Corp. and Royal Dutch/Shell Group's Shell Oil to replenish the U.S. emergency petroleum reserve, despite record high crude prices and strong oil demand. Oil prices hit record highs Friday, climbing close to $45 before settling back down, after a renewed threat to Russian oil major Yukos added to the strain on world supplies. The price of crude for September delivery ended in New York at $43.

Driven by record-high gasoline prices and the sale of oil and natural gas fields in Canada, profit at ChevronTexaco Corp. more than doubled during the second quarter, the San Ramon, Calif.-based refiner said Friday. ChevronTexaco's financial performance echoed the strong quarterly results reported by other major U.S. oil refiners this week as increased demand for gasoline and uncertain supplies have kept pump prices high nationwide. "Oil companies are printing money.

Exxon Mobil Corp., ChevronTexaco Corp. and Valero Energy Corp. confirmed Friday that they had been subpoenaed for records related to a United Nations oil-for-food program in Iraq. The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York is investigating alleged improprieties in the program. A spokeswoman for Exxon Mobil said the subpoena covered only documents related to the program and did not accuse the Irving, Texas-based oil giant of wrongdoing.

In an unusual move, Pentagon officials are promising to cooperate with ChevronTexaco as it studies whether to build a gas terminal at or near Camp Pendleton, overruling the base's commanding general, who strongly opposed the project. High-level Marine and Navy officials said Monday that talks with ChevronTexaco would continue on building a liquefied natural gas terminal on or offshore from the West Coast's largest Marine training base.

ChevronTexaco has approached the Marine Corps about building a liquefied natural gas terminal off the coast or on land at Camp Pendleton, provoking vehement opposition from the commanding general of one of the nation's best-known Marine bases, Marine officials said. The Marines also oppose Camp Pendleton being listed as an alternative site for an LNG terminal proposed by the Australian energy company BHP Billiton off the shore of Ventura County.

Two Canadian trusts agreed Tuesday to buy 13 oil and natural-gas fields from ChevronTexaco Corp. for $793.6 million to boost reserves and cash flow. Enerplus Resources Fund and Acclaim Energy Trust, both of Calgary, plan to sell fields in western Canada worth about $138 million to an oil and gas producer immediately after the purchase, which is expected by June 30, Enerplus said. Chevron, based in San Ramon, Calif., issued its own statement and said it expected a significant gain on the deal.

XTO Energy Inc. said Monday that it had agreed to purchase natural-gas and oil properties in Texas, New Mexico and five other states from ChevronTexaco Corp. for $1.1 billion -- its largest acquisition. XTO and other U.S. energy companies are seeking to boost output from domestic fields shed by larger rivals after gas prices surged almost 80% in the last two years.

Surging gasoline prices helped ChevronTexaco Corp. report a 33% increase in first-quarter profit Friday. Chevron, the nation's second-largest oil company, reported a net income of $2.56 billion, or $2.40 a share, up from $1.92 billion, or $1.81, in the first three months of 2003. Sales rose 9% to $33.6 billion. Excluding one-time items and discontinued operations, earnings rose 22% to $2.53 billon, or $2.37 a share, beating Wall Street's consensus forecast of $2.02 a share.

Two Americans were among at least five people killed when gunmen attacked a boat carrying contractors of U.S. oil giant ChevronTexaco and their military escorts in Nigeria's southern delta region, company and army officials said Saturday. A third American, a ChevronTexaco employee, was in stable condition with a gunshot wound from the Friday afternoon attack on the Benin River near the southern city of Warri, ChevronTexaco spokesman Deji Haastrup said.

A federal judge has ordered ChevronTexaco Corp. to stand trial for the actions of a subsidiary that allegedly worked closely with Nigerian military personnel who killed villagers protesting the oil giant's operations. The ruling, made public Thursday, is a setback for the second-largest U.S. oil company, one of several multinational corporations being sued in U.S. courts over alleged human rights abuses overseas. Unocal Corp.