 | |
| Company type | Public company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Energy industry |
| Founded | 1920; 105 years ago (1920) |
| Headquarters | Houston, Texas, U.S. |
Key people |
|
| Products | Chemical substances |
Production output | 3,512 thousandbarrels of oil equivalent (21,490,000 GJ) per day (2021) |
| Revenue |  US$26.314 billion (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021)[1] |
| US$2.790 billion (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021)[1] | |
| US$2.332 billion (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021)[1] | |
| Total assets |  US$75.036 billion (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021)[1] |
| Total equity | US$20.327 billion (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021)[1] |
Number of employees | 11,678 (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021)[1] |
| Website | oxy |
| Footnotes / references [2] | |
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Occidental Petroleum Corporation (often abbreviatedOxy in reference to itsticker symbol and logo) is an American company engaged inhydrocarbon exploration in the United States and theMiddle East as well aspetrochemical manufacturing in theUnited States,Canada, andChile. It is incorporated under theDelaware General Corporation Law and headquartered inHouston. The company ranked 183rd on the 2021Fortune 500 based on its 2020 revenues[3] and 670th on the 2021Forbes Global 2000.[4]
Occidental Petroleum was founded in Los Angeles, CA in 1920.[5] In 1957,Armand Hammer became the company's president and CEO after acquiring a controlling stake.[6] The 1960s marked a period of expansion as Occidental established operations inPeru,Venezuela,Bolivia,Trinidad, and theUnited Kingdom.[citation needed] In 1961, the company discovered the Lathrop Gas Field inLathrop, California.[7]
In 1965, Occidental won exploration rights inLibya,[7] where it operated until 1986 when United States economic sanctions led to the suspension of activities.[8] The company diversified in 1968 by entering the chemical business with the acquisition ofHooker Chemical Company, following theLove Canal contamination incident.[9]
In 1971, Occidental received approval to build anoil refinery inCanvey Island inEssex, England, but construction ceased in 1975 due to the1970s energy crisis. The site remained derelict; the tanks and the chimney were subsequently demolished. Only some concrete foundations and the river jetty remain extant.[10]
In 1973, Occidental negotiated a phosphate-for-natural-gas deal with the Soviet Union, in which the Hammer-controlled firms Occidental Petroleum andTower International would export to the Soviet Unionphosphate, which Occidental mined in northern Florida, in return for the Soviet Union exporting fromOdessa andVentspils through Hammer's firmsnatural gas that would be converted intoammonia,potash, andurea.[11][12] The total value of this trade was estimated at $20 billion. The construction of Soviet port facilities, designed by Hammer's firms, was partially financed by theExport-Import Bank as endorsed byNixon.[13][12]
In August 1973, Libya nationalized 51% of Occidental's assets in the country.[14] In February 1974, the company announced a 35-year oil exploration agreement with Libya. 81% of the oil extracted by Occidental Petroleum was to go to the Libyan government, with 19% retained by Occidental Petroleum.[14] In 1986, the company suspended operation in the country due to economic sanctions imposed by the United States. In 2005, Occidental and its partner, Liwa, won 8 out of 15 exploration spots on the EPSA-4 auction, making both companies among the first to enter the Libyan market since the United States lifted its embargo on Libya.[15]
The company was one of the first companies to research developingoil shale.[16]
In 1983, Occidental andEcopetrol, theColombian state-owned oil company, discovered the giantCaño Limón oilfield inArauca.[17] In July 1996, the company sold its interest in 3 oilfields in the Congo to the Congolese government for $215 million.[18] The following year, it paid $3.65 billion to acquire theElk Hills Oil Field.[19]
In 1986, the company formed a joint venture withChurch & Dwight, which makesArm & Hammer products, for a potassium carbonate plant atMuscle Shoals, Alabama.[20]
On July 6, 1988, an explosion and subsequent inferno on the company'sPiper Alpha platform in the Scottish North Sea, resulted in 167 fatalities in what remains the world's most deadly offshore disaster.[21]
In 1990, Armand Hammer died andRay R. Irani became chairman and chief executive officer of the company.[22][23] In 1991, Occidental sold its stake inIBP, Inc.[24] In 1993, the company sold its remaining coal operations.[25]
In 2006, the government ofEcuador seized the company's interest in block 15 of theAmazon Rainforest, forcing the company to take a $306 million after-tax charge.[26][27] In 2016, Ecuador agreed to pay $980 million in restitution to the company, down from the original award of $1.77 billion. The agreement was based on a 2012 arbitration award from theInternational Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes.[28]
In 2007, Occidental's compensation policies came under scrutiny after it was announced that Irani received $460 million in compensation in 2006.[29] In May 2011, Irani retired as CEO afterCalSTRS and Relational Investors, two major shareholders, objected to the company's compensation policies for top executives.[30] President Stephen I. Chazen was named CEO to replace Irani and in 2013, shareholders ousted Irani as chairman.[31] Despite his outlandish compensation, during Irani's tenure, the company grew from a collection of unrelated businesses to one that focuses on oil and gas and themarket capitalization of the company went from $5.5 billion to $80 billion.[32][33]
In December 2010, Occidental acquired shale oil properties in theWilliston Basin inNorth Dakota for $1.4 billion.[34] These assets, as well as other assets acquired by Oxy in the Williston Basin, were sold in 2015 for $600 million.[35] The company also sold its proven and probable reserves of 393 millionbarrels of oil equivalent (2.40×109 GJ) in Argentina toSinopec, a subsidiary ofChina Petrochemical Corporation, and acquired properties in South Texas and North Dakota for $3.2 billion.[36][37]
In January 2011, Occidental partnered with Abu Dhabi's state oil company in developing the Shah Field, one of the largest natural gas fields in the Middle East, through a joint venture known as Al Hosn Gas.[38] Al Hosn Gas became operational in 2015.[39]
In September 2014, Occidental moved its headquarters to Houston, Texas.[40][41] In November, the company sold its 50% interest in BridgeTex Pipeline Company, owner of a 300,000 barrel-per-day crude oil pipeline system that extends fromColorado City, Texas toTexas City, Texas, for $1.075 billion.[42][43] In December 2014, Occidental distributed 80.5% of its shares inCalifornia Resources Corporation, the largest producer of oil and natural gas on a gross-operated barrels of oil equivalent basis in California, to Occidental shareholders[44] and distributed its remaining stake to shareholders in March 2016.[45] In June 2017, the company sold land in thePermian Basin for $600 million and used the proceeds to acquire other assets in the area.[46]
In October 2015, Occidental completed the first phase of a $500 million carbon dioxide flooding project inHobbs, New Mexico.[47] In March 2017, the company and its 50/50 joint venture partnerMexichem began operations of a 1.2-billion-pound per year capacityethylene cracker at the OxyChem plant inIngleside, Texas, along with pipelines and storage atMarkham, Texas.[48]
In May 2016,Vicki Hollub, who had worked at Occidental since 1981 and joined the board in 2015, became the chief executive officer of the company, the first female to serve as chief executive officer of a major U.S. oil and gas company.[49]
In January 2018, Occidental was found to be partially responsible for theBayou Corne sinkhole, along with Texas Brine Company andVulcan Materials Company.[50]
In October 2020, Occidental sold its onshore operations in Colombia to the Carlyle Group for $825 million. The deal included operations and working interests in the Llanos Norte, Middle Magdalena, and Putumayo Basins.[51] Working interest on exploration offshore in Colombia remained under ownership of Oxy in partnership withEcopetrol, with plans to drill the first well by 2024.[52]
In 1981, Occidental acquiredIBP, Inc., one of largest producers of beef and pork products in the United States.[24][53] In 1988, the company acquiredCain Chemical for $2 billion.[54][55]
In 2005, the company acquired Vintage Petroleum for $3.8 billion.[56][57] In 2008, it acquired a 10% stake inPlains All American Pipeline.[58] The company also acquired assets fromPlains Exploration & Production for $1.3 billion.[59] In October 2009, Occidental acquiredCitigroup's controversialPhibro energy-trading business, for its net asset value of approximately $250 million.[60][61] The unit was managed byAndrew J. Hall, who received compensation of approximately $100 million per year in 2007 and 2008. After the acquisition, the division reported its first losses since the 1990s.[62] In 2016, Phibro was wound down and sold.[63]
In August 2019, Occidental acquiredAnadarko Petroleum for $57 billion, making the deal the world's fourth biggest oil and gas acquisition to date.[64]
In August 2023, Occidental acquired all the outstanding equity of thedirect air capture technology company,Carbon Engineering for $1.1 billion.[65] In December, the company acquired a Permian producer, CrownRock, for $12 billion. The acquisition was completed in August 2024.[66]
The company's oil and gas operations are concentrated in two geographic areas: the United States and the Middle East, with some ventures in South America. As of December 31, 2020, Occidental had 2.911 billionbarrels of oil equivalent (1.781×1010 GJ) of oil equivalent net proved reserves, of which 51% was petroleum, 19% was natural gas liquids, and 30% was natural gas. In 2020, the company had production of 1,350 thousandbarrels of oil equivalent (8,300,000 GJ) per day.[2]
In 2020, the company's United States operations produced 1,037 thousandbarrels of oil equivalent (6,340,000 GJ) per day, representing 77% of the company's worldwide production, including 575 thousandbarrels of oil equivalent (3,520,000 GJ) per day inPermian Basin, where Occidental is the largest operator and oil producer. The company produced 435 thousandbarrels of oil equivalent (2,660,000 GJ) per day fromunconventional oildirectional drilling via Permian Resources and 140 thousandbarrels of oil equivalent (860,000 GJ) per day using a technique calledenhanced oil recovery, wherebycarbon dioxide and water are injected into underground formations to extract the oil and gas. The company also produced 293 thousandbarrels of oil equivalent (1,790,000 GJ) per day in theDenver Basin.[2]
The company's oil and gas operations in the Middle East are inOman,Qatar, and theUnited Arab Emirates and are viaproduction sharing agreements. The region produced 251 thousandbarrels of oil equivalent (1,540,000 GJ) per day, representing approximately 19% of 2020 total production. The region also held 28% of the company's proved reserves in 2020.[2]
The company is the largest independent oil producer in Oman.[67] In Qatar, the company is the second-largest oil producer offshore and is a partial owner in theDolphin Gas Project, which delivers gas to Oman and the United Arab Emirates.[68]
In Colombia, Anadarko Colombia, a subsidiary of Oxy, andEcopetrol entered into a joint exploration agreement in May 2022 for offshore exploration in deep waters of the Caribbean,[69] with plans to drill the world's deepest offshore oil well by 2024.[52]
In Peru, Anadarko Peru, a subsidiary of Oxy, completed the initial phase of a 3D marine seismic acquisition project in northern Peruvian waters in 2024.[70]
OxyChem, awholly-owned subsidiary, manufacturespolyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins,chlorine, andsodium hydroxide (caustic soda) used in plastics, pharmaceuticals, and water treatment chemicals. Other products manufactured by the company include causticpotash,chlorinated organics, sodium silicates, chlorinatedcyanuric acid (isocyanurate), andcalcium chloride. OxyChem has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Canada, and Chile. In a joint venture withChurch & Dwight, OxyChem owns Armand Products Company, which sellspotassium carbonate andpotassium bicarbonate.[2]
In June 2024, Occidental Petroleum signed a memorandum of understanding withTAE Technologies to explore commercial opportunities for using TAE's nuclear fusion technology to provide clean electricity and heat for Occidental'sdirect air capture (DAC) projects. DAC is an energy-intensive process that involves removing CO2 from the atmosphere, and the partnership aims to address the energy needs of DAC with low-carbon power solutions. TAE Technologies, known for its advanced nuclear fusion research, plans to have a demonstration project by 2025 and a commercial facility in the 2030s.[71]
The company began operations inLibya in 1965 and operated there untileconomic sanctions were imposed in 1986 by the United States.[8] The company was one of the first American companies to resume negotiations in Libya after the sanctions were lifted in 2004.[72] In 2008, the company, along with 5 other oil companies, was criticized for hiringHogan Lovells to lobby to exempt Libya from a law written by U.S. SenatorFrank Lautenberg (D-NJ) to assist American terror victims in seizing assets of countries found culpable in terror attacks, such as the Libyan bombing ofPan Am Flight 103 overLockerbie in 1988.[73] and to remove a provision in theDodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that requires disclosure of payments to foreign governments.[74] In early 2011, the company ceased exploration activities and production operations in Libya due to the growing civil unrest in the country and U.S. sanctions. In June 2011, theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and United Kingdom prosecutors requested information from the company,ExxonMobil andConocoPhillips related to theLibyan Investment Authority (LIA), an investment firm controlled by Libyan leaderMuammar Gaddafi, to determine if there were any violations of international bribery laws.[75][76] The Libyan Investment Authority's investments were frozen by the U.S. government in early 2011 following the Gaddafi regime's attacks on Libyan civilians.[75] In 2016, the company ceased operations in Libya.
In 2017, the company was ranked 55th on the Carbon Majors Report, a list of the Top 100 producers and their cumulative greenhouse gas emissions from 1988-2015.[77]
The company has stated that its use ofenhanced oil recovery for a portion of its production is one way it helps mitigate its high emissions.[2][78]
In 1982, the company acquired land in the Copper Basin inTennessee, formerly the site of theBurra Burra Mine, where copper and sulfur had been mined in the 1800s. In 2016, Occidental agreed to spend $50 million to clean up the Copper Basin and restore the water quality of its creeks.[79][80]
Since the 1920s, several companies and theUnited States Armed Forces used theLove Canal as a chemical disposal site. In 1942, Occidental predecessorHooker Chemical Company began disposing of chemical waste at the site and, in 1947, it became the sole owner and user of the land. In 1952, the site was filled to capacity and closed off. The company leased the land to the local school board in 1953. Later in the 1950s, the school board requested that the company sell the land, and threatened to useeminent domain. The school board intended to build a school on an unused area of the dump.[81]
A school was built on the site, and later a middle-class residential district was built on land adjacent to the site. The construction broke through the 4-foot (1.2 m) clay seal containing the waste. In 1968, Hooker Chemical was purchased by Occidental. In 1978, residents became concerned about unusual health issues in the region, including high rates of cancer andbirth defects. This subsequently became a national news story, and in 1980, presidentJimmy Carter declared a federal emergency in the area. Residents were eventually relocated, and the company paid $129 million in restitution.[82][9]
On Saturday, October 11, 2008,oleum was accidentally spilled at a facility inPetrolia, Pennsylvania which belonged to Indspec, an affiliate of Occidental Chemical Corporation. Oleum is a chemical mixture ofsulfuric acid andsulfur trioxide. The accident contaminated the ventilation system and caused a cloud of toxic gas. Over 2,000 residents had to be evacuated for the day.[83] The spill was caused by an auxiliary pumppower supply which lacked safety interlocks to prevent tank overfilling.[84][9]
On 14 June 1997, an explosion at the Magurchhaqra gas field in Kamalganj Upazila,Moulvibazar District of Bangladesh destroyed large areas ofLawachara National Park and nearby areas.[85] Occidental was drilling at the gas field which was later abandoned.[85][86] The explosion damaged 28 tea gardens in the area. It was estimated to have caused 90 to 140 billionBDT in damages.[85] The government of Bangladesh claimed compensation from Occidental but it left the country handing over the well toUnocal which later sold the interests toChevron.[85][87]
From 1992 to 2001, the company tried to drill for oil in the territory of theU'wa people, in northeastColombia. The locals resisted, concerned aboutenvironmental degradation and fears that development would bring strangers and be a target forguerrilla warfare. There also were tribal beliefs that oil is the "blood of the earth" and should not be removed.[88][89] In 2002, after years ofshareholder resolutions, legal battles, protests, and a failed test well, the company abandoned the project.[90][91]Repsol took over the project.
On December 13, 1998, 17 civilians, including 7 children, were killed when theColombian Air Force (CAF) dropped a cluster bomb in the hamlet of Santo Domingo, Colombia, afterAirScan, Occidental's security contractor, misidentified it as a hostile guerrilla target. Groups such asFARC and theNational Liberation Army were active in the area. Three employees of AirScan were flying the Skymaster plane from which they provided the Colombian military with the coordinates to drop the bombs. The operation had been planned by the CAF and AirScan at Occidental's complex in Caño Limón. In April 2003, Luis Alberto Galvis Mujica, a witness and survivor of the accident, sued Occidental.[92] The courts ruled that Occidental was not liable for the incident.[93][94]
On May 10, 2007, a group of 25AchuarPeruvians, a group ofIndigenous peoples, filed suit against the company, demandingenvironmental remediation andreparations forenvironmental degradation allegedly caused by the company between 1971 and 2000, when it drilled in Block 1-AB in Peru. The plaintiffs claimed that the company violatedtechnical standards andenvironmental law when it dumped a total of 9 billion barrels (1.4×10^9 m3) of toxic oilby-products, such ascadmium, lead, andarsenic, indrainage basins used by the Achuar people to fish, drink, and bathe. This environmental damage was alleged to have caused premature deaths andbirth defects. A 2006 study by theMinistry of Health of Peru, found that all but 2 of the 199 people tested had levels of cadmium in their blood above safe levels.[95]
The Achuar were represented byEarthRights International and the law firm Schonbrun DeSimone Seplow Harris & Hoffman LLP.[96]
On March 3, 2010, EarthRights International argued to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that the case should be litigated in Los Angeles, where the company was headquartered.[97][98] The court agreed with a trial in the United States, overturning the decision of the lower courts, and, in 2013, theUnited States Supreme Court refused to hear the company's appeal. In March 2015, the company made asettlement for an undisclosed amount, with the funds to be used for health, education, and nutrition projects in five Achuar communities in theCorrientes River basin.[96]
In 2019, Occidental Petroleum acquiredAnadarko Petroleum, inheriting a significant legacy of environmental infractions including the largest environmental contamination settlement in American history,[99] involvement with theDeepwater Horizon BP disaster[100] and fines under the Clean Water Act.[101]
The deal was clinched as investor andBerkshire Hathaway CEOWarren Buffett pledged $10 billion to finance the deal in exchange for 100,000 shares of cumulative perpetual preferred stock with a value of $100,000 per share. Buffett and Berkshire also received a warrant to purchase up to 80 million more shares at an exercise price of $62.50 a share.[102]
Occidental has disclosed its contributions topolitical action committees, lobbyists, andtrade associations on its website.[103]
In 2005, the company was among 53 entities which contributed the maximum of $250,000 to theSecond inauguration of George W. Bush.[104][105][106]
The company also donated between $10,000 and $25,000 to theClinton Foundation.[107]
Former CEO Armand Hammer was a long time friend of formerU.S. SenatorAlbert Gore, Sr. and Gore was a member of the board of directors of the company. In September 1972, after he lost an election for theUnited States Senate in 1970, Gore became the head of Island Creek Coal Company, an Occidental subsidiary.[108] Much of the company's coal and phosphate production was inTennessee, the state Gore represented in the Senate, and Gore owned shares in the company.[109] The company liquidated its coal assets in 1993 after Hammer died.[25]
Former Vice President of the United StatesAl Gore was criticized by environmentalists when he inherited shares in the company after the death of his father in 1998; however, the shares were immediately sold.[110][111][112]
In 1998, the U.S. government sold theElk Hills Oil Field to Occidental for $3.65 billion after an auction process that involved selling the field in segments and offering it to multiple bidders.[113] However, critics cited the Gore family's involvement with the company as evidence ofgraft.[110]
In 1999, OxyChem achieved Star Status under OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs as being among the safest work sites in the U.S.[114]
On July 6, 1988, the company'sPiper Alpha offshore production platform in theNorth Sea was destroyed when an out of service gascondensate pump was started with its pressuresafety valve removed. The subsequentgas leak, explosion and fire resulted in the deaths of 167 workers in what remains the world's deadliest offshore disaster.[21] The subsequent inquiry blamed the accident on inadequate maintenance and safety procedures by Occidental, though no charges were brought.
In 1984, billionaireDavid Murdock owned about 5% of the company and was a member of its board of directors, after the company acquiredIBP, Inc., of which Murdock owned 19%. After disagreements between Murdock and then CEO Armand Hammer, the company paidgreenmail to buy Murdock's shares at $40.09 each, while the market price was $28.75.[115]
In January 2024, aclass action lawsuit was filed by drivers in three US states accusing Occidental, along with seven other oil and gas producers, of an illegalprice-fixing scheme to constrain production of shale oil that led to American drivers paying more for gasoline than they would have in a competitive market.[116]
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