bid to rectify racial inequality within the firm.

And the advances even exceed the oil company's diversity plan, formulated after the affair became public.

Texaco chairman and chief executive officer Peter Bijur announced that the company had made significant progress toward the goals of its five-year diversity and economic outreach efforts.

"In late 1996 Texaco established an ambitious and comprehensive plan directed at ensuring fairness and economic opportunity for our employees and business partners and enabling us to better compete in the energy marketplace,'' Mr.

Bijur said. "Today we can report that we are making significant progress toward those goals, progress that is clearly beneficial to our business objectives.'' Two years ago a criminal investigation was launched into allegations that Texaco chiefs -- including one who at one time lived and worked in Bermuda -- destroyed documents relating to a discrimination lawsuit.

Three company executives were caught on tape allegedly discussing destroying some of the documents.

The tapes also record some of the executives referring to black Texaco employees as "jelly beans'' and "niggers''.

The lawsuit against Texaco was a class-action brought on behalf of 1,500 black employees of the oil company who claim they were denied promotions because of their race.

The 1997 progress report, released last week, showed: Direct expenditure with minority and women-owned businesses more then doubled to $298 million for the year; Minorities and women accounted for 69 percent of the 8,904 new hires in the US; Of the 599 promotions, 59 percent of them went to minorities and women.

DISCRIMINATION DIS