Saudis dangling their oil to lure foreign investment

Foreign oil companies will be entitled to 500 barrels per day of Saudi oil for every $1 million they invest in Saudi Arabia, a government official said. It has been widely reported in the West that this would be the scale of the inducement to companies to invest in refining and petrochemical projects, London oil analysts said. Until now, most Saudi oil has been bought by the four US partners in the Arabian American Oil Company -- Exxon Corporation, Texaco Inc., Standard Oil of California, and Mobil Corporation -- or sold in government deals by the state oil company, Petromin. The crude-for-investment plan offers other companies access to relatively low-priced Saudi crude.