Done Deal

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Just one day after getting the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) approval for divesting its Texaco assets, ChevronTexaco Corp said it completed the sale of refining, pipeline and retail fuel outlets to Shell Oil Co. and Saudi Refining Inc. for dollars $3.86 billion. All proceeds of the sale will go to San Francisco-based ChevronTexaco

The businesses formerly made up Texaco Inc.'s downstream interests, operated in partnership with Shell and Saudi Refining as Equilon Enterprises LLC and Motiva Enterprises LLC.

The two ventures own eight refineries, 30,000 miles of pipelines, a trading enterprise and outlets in about 23,000 branded service stations in the United States.

Texaco formed the Texaco Alliance in 2001, moving the oil company's downstream business interests into a trust immediately before the merger of Chevron Corp. and Texaco, as a condition imposed by federal and state regulators to complete the merger.

The sale gives Shell Oil approximately a 14-percent market share, the company said.

Saudi Refining Inc. is the Houston-based affiliate of Saudi Aramco, the state-run oil company controlled by the Saudi royal family. ChevronTexaco said the sale, agreed to on Dec. 12, consists of $2.26 billion in cash and the assumption of about $1.6 billion of its debt and liabilities.