Even some of Mr Bush's fellow Republicans, however, are questioning the size of his aid package for an oil-rich country.

ECONOMIST: Finally, a new UN resolution

Oil drillers get a sweet package of tax breaks, including writeoffs when they drill a well and more writeoffs as the hydrocarbons come out of the ground.

FORBES: AMA To Geithner: No Lawyer Tax Breaks!

Customers who sign up can bulk buy their heating oil and electricity together in a package.

BBC: Oxfordshire community energy scheme moves to dual fuel

That package would have raised some taxes on oil companies and used the extra revenue to invest in renewable production.

FORBES: Renewable Energy's Alternative Ending

Just last month, with oil prices at their peak, the cabinet approved a package of new measures to promote foreign investment.

ECONOMIST: Saudi Arabia on the dole

Other revenue measures in the package include ending tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and closing tax loopholes for the oil industry.

CNN: Obama, Republicans clash on forced spending cuts

In Saudi Arabia, holder of the world's largest proven oil reserves, the youth jobless rate is right near the regional average, despite a half trillion dollar diversification package from King Abdullah.

CNN: The Arab World's lost generation

Governor FRANK MURKOWSKI (Republican, Alaska): While the oil stands independent of the gas, clearly there is a connection, because what the producers basically accepted was a package.

NPR: Alaska Prepares for New Gas Pipeline