Oil merger rumored. ChevronTexaco reportedly considering a bid for Unocal

Speculation that ChevronTexaco Corp. might buy smaller rival Unocal Corp. sent the latter’s stock price soaring Thursday and spurred talk on Wall Street that another round of mergers might sweep the oil industry.

Citing unnamed sources, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that San Ramon’s ChevronTexaco is mulling a bid for Unocal. The idea, the paper stressed, is still in its infancy.