Occidental Petroleum Announces $1.2 Billion Asset Divestiture

Occidental Petroleum revealed on Tuesday that it has finalized two deals in the current quarter to sell certain upstream assets to undisclosed buyers for a total of $1.2 billion. The divested assets include non-operated properties in the Rockies and Permian Basin, which are not aligned with the company’s near-term development strategy. Occidental expects these transactions to be completed by the end of the quarter.

The Houston, Texas-based energy giant plans to utilize the proceeds from these sales to further reduce its debt. This move follows Occidental’s achievement of its near-term debt repayment target of $4.5 billion in the fourth quarter, a milestone reached after the company closed the $12 billion acquisition of privately held CrownRock in August of the previous year.

Despite reporting a profit of 80 cents per share on an adjusted basis, which exceeded analysts’ average estimate of 70 cents per share, Occidental posted a fourth-quarter loss of $297 million. This loss contrasts with the $1.03 billion profit reported in the same period last year, primarily due to environmental liabilities and lower oil and gas prices. The company’s quarterly worldwide production increased by 18.6% to 1.46 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMboepd) compared to the previous year, driven by higher production levels.