The fourth-largest American oil and gas company based on equity market capitalization, Occidental Petroleum is one of the industry's unqualified success stories. Oxy's success is a direct outcome of the company's visionary leadership and ongoing commitment to enhance stockholder value.
Employing a disciplined financial strategy and focusing on high-potential oil and gas assets in Oxy's core geographic regions, we have consistently achieved top-quartile results on the key metrics watched by the investment community. For example:
- Since 2002, cumulative total return to stockholders has outpaced Oxy's oil and gas industry peers as well as the S&P 500 Index;
- Since year-end 2004, Oxy has reduced debt over 29 percent while increasing stockholders’ equity by 158 percent;
- From 1998 to year-end 2008, Oxy’s market capitalization increased by more than 700 percent to over $48 billion. At year-end 2008, Oxy had the second-largest market capitalization of any company in the Los Angeles area, where we are headquartered;
- Since 1975, Oxy has continuously paid quarterly dividends to its stockholders and in April 2009, the dividend was raised to an annual rate of $1.32 per share, the company's eighth increase since 2002.
Founded in California in 1920, Oxy made its first major discovery in California's Sacramento Valley in 1961. Today, Oxy is the largest natural gas producer in the state. Most of the company's worldwide production – 60 percent in 2008 – continues to come from U.S. operations in Texas and New Mexico, where Oxy is the largest oil producer, as well as California, Colorado and Kansas.
Oxy has been an active investor in the Middle East and North Africa for more than 40 years, with operations in Libya, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. This increasingly important region accounted for 27 percent of Oxy's worldwide production in 2008.
Latin America operations – in Argentina, Bolivia and Colombia – accounted for 13 percent of Oxy's 2008 total production. 2008 marks the 25th anniversary of Colombia's Caño Limón field, discovered by Oxy in 1983.
Over the years, a number of milestones have propelled the company's growth. These include:
- 2008: Oxy signed agreements for various projects in the Middle East/North Africa region, including:
- An agreement for joint participation in hydrocarbon-related investments with Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company;
- The preliminary agreement with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company to appraise and develop two oil and gas fields in Abu Dhabi;
- An Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement to develop four existing gas fields and to explore for potential new discoveries in the Sultanate of Oman; and
- An agreement to upgrade our existing contracts with the Libyan National Oil Corporation.
Oxy also won bids to explore three offshore blocks and further develop the onshore field in Bahrain.
In the U.S., Oxy purchased interests in the Permian and Piceance basins totaling $2.7 billion, adding an initial 190 million BOE of reserves; additional reserves will be added as the properties are developed.
- 2007: The giant Dolphin Project, one of the largest energy projects ever to be undertaken in the Middle East, is fully operational and delivers natural gas to customers in the United Arab Emirates and later Oman. Oxy has been a partner in the Dolphin Project since 2002.
- 2006: Oxy acquired production assets from Vintage Petroleum in Latin America, California and the Middle East.
- 2005: Oxy signed an agreement with Libya's National Oil Company to re-enter the country to participate in exploration and production operations after the U.S. ended nearly 20 years of economic sanctions.
- 2004: Oxy signed a new production-sharing contract for the Mukhaizna oil field, one of the largest in Oman.
- 2002: Oxy became a partner in the Dolphin Project in Qatar and United Arab Emirates, one of the largest energy initiatives undertaken in the Middle East.
- 2000: The purchase of Altura Energy, Ltd., in the Permian Basin of southwest Texas and southeast New Mexico made Oxy the largest oil producer in Texas.
- 1998: Oxy became the largest natural gas producer in California with the purchase of the U.S. Department of Energy's 78-percent interest in Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve.
- 1986: Oxy purchased MidCon Corp., the parent company of a diversified group of natural gas pipelines and energy-related companies.
- 1982: Oxy acquired Cities Service Company, which was principally engaged in oil and natural gas exploration, development, production, refining, marketing and transportation.
View an expanded timeline of key events in Oxy's history
Oxy also has been involved in the chemical industry for more than 40 years. Occidental Chemical Corporation and related subsidiaries, collectively known as OxyChem, was established in 1987. A leading North American manufacturer of vinyls, specialty chemical products and basic chemicals, OxyChem is the largest merchant marketer of chlorine and its co-product caustic soda, and the world’s largest producer of caustic potash and calcium chloride.
Oxy has been publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange since 1964. Oxy stock has split twice: a 2-for-1 stock split on July 20, 2006, and a 3-for-1 stock split on January 29, 1968. In April 2009, the Board of Directors approved Oxy's eighth dividend increase since 2002.
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