Energy · Profile from Energy Research Companion
Occidental Petroleum
The Houston-based oil and gas producer ("Oxy") that Armand Hammer turned from a tiny California driller into an international company through the Libyan concessions of 1966. Its North Sea platform Piper Alpha exploded in 1988, killing 167 men, the deadliest offshore accident in history. Under Vicki Hollub it outbid Chevron for Anadarko in 2019 (~$38bn of equity, ~$55bn including debt), funded partly by $10bn of Berkshire Hathaway preferred stock at 8%, months before the 2020 price collapse. That forced a dividend cut to a cent a share. Berkshire then built a ~28% common stake (2022–24, reported). Oxy bought CrownRock (~$12bn, 2024), sold its chemicals arm OxyChem to Berkshire (~$9.7bn headline, closed 2 Jan 2026), and staked its long-term identity on carbon capture: CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), direct air capture (Carbon Engineering, ~$1.1bn, 2023; the Stratos plant in Texas) and the subsidy that makes them pay (45Q). Production was ~1.43m boe/d in Q2 2026; Richard Jackson succeeded Hollub as CEO on 1 Jun 2026 (company). It is the clearest case in this knowledge base of leverage timing — and of carbon capture as both strategy and subsidy capture.
At a glance
- Founded
- 1920 in California; Armand Hammer took control in 1957 (reported)
- Headquarters
- Houston, Texas (moved from Los Angeles, 2014)
- Ownership / structure
- Public (NYSE: OXY). Berkshire Hathaway is the largest shareholder (~28% of common, 2024, reported, verify current) and holds ~$8.5bn of 8% cumulative preferred (implied from ~$170m a quarter of preferred dividends, Q2 2026, computed) plus warrants (reported)
- Leadership (2026)
- Richard Jackson (president and CEO from 1 Jun 2026; joined Oxy in 2003 in its Middle East operations; previously COO); Vicki Hollub (CEO Apr 2016–May 2026; remains a director); Sunil Mathew (CFO, verify)
- Segments
- Oil and gas (Permian Delaware and Midland incl. CrownRock, DJ Basin in Colorado, Gulf of America (Mexico), Oman, UAE (Al Hosn gas, Dolphin), Algeria; Qatar (Dolphin feed, verify)); midstream and marketing (incl. a stake in Western Midstream); low-carbon ventures (1PointFive, Carbon Engineering, CO2 pipelines and storage). OxyChem (chlor-alkali, PVC, caustic soda) sold to Berkshire Hathaway, closed 2 Jan 2026
- Scale
- Production ~1,433 kboe/d in Q2 2026, of which US ~1,228 kboe/d (company); realised oil ~$96.78/bbl (Q2 2026) against WTI ~$92.79/bbl and Brent ~$97.06/bbl averages; domestic realised gas −$1.48/Mcf (Permian Waha weakness) (company)
- Financial (Q2 2026)
- Net income to common ~$2.8bn; free cash flow before working capital ~$3.0bn (the highest since Q3 2022); capex ~$1.6bn; principal debt ~$11.8bn (down $1.9bn in the quarter, target ~$10bn); quarterly dividend $0.28 (company)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Hammer and the Libyan concessions (1966–70); Piper Alpha (1988); California Resources spin-off (2014); Anadarko and the Berkshire preferred (2019); the 2020 crisis and dividend cut; Berkshire's stake build (2022); Carbon Engineering and Stratos (2023); CrownRock (2023–24); the OxyChem sale to Berkshire (2025–26)
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1966
Hammer and the Libyan Concessions
Discovery and concession award, followed by host-government action (1970) and nationalisation (1973)
1988
Piper Alpha
Accident or disaster
2014
California Resources Spin Off
Spin-off (and a later bankruptcy of the spun-off company)
2019
Anadarko and the Berkshire Preferred
Acquisition or merger, with financing (preferred equity) and a divestment (Africa to Total)
2020
Crisis and Dividend Cut
Restructuring (a failure: forced by leverage after the Anadarko deal)
2022
Berkshire Stake Build
Financing and ownership change (a large shareholder's open-market accumulation)
2023
Carbon Engineering and Stratos
Technology bet and acquisition
2023
CrownRock Acquisition
Acquisition (private company; cash, stock and assumed debt)
2025
OxyChem Sale to Berkshire
Divestment