INDUSTRY STAYS OUT OF ARCTIC OIL FIGHT.(MAIN)

Byline: NEELA BANERJEE New York Times

HOUSTON -- More than three decades ago, the world's largest energy companies led the charge to drill for oil on the North Slope of Alaska. But now, as the debate rages over opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration, those same companies remain surprisingly silent.

Drilling in the Arctic refuge, which already has been approved by the House, has become a touchstone issue for the Bush administration, and the issue promises to spark a nasty fight in the Senate.

Publicly, the biggest multinational petroleum companies, like Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch/Shell, BP and ChevronTexaco, back the Bush …