safety excellence

Oxy has consistently ranked as one of the world’s safest companies with 11 consecutive years of Injury and Illness Incident Rates (IIR — recordable injuries and illnesses per 100 worker-years) of less than one. The most recently published (2005) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Industry average is 4.6. In 2006, Oxy’s employee IIR of 0.47 reflects a four percent per year improvement trend over the past 10 years and indicates that injuries to Oxy’s employees occur about one-tenth as often as injuries to the average U.S. worker.

Oxy also is one of the top performers among its industry competitors. The most recent data available from the American Petroleum Institute (API) show that the average IIR for all U.S. exploration and production company employees is 0.55, while the average for American Chemistry Council (ACC) peer companies is 1.27.

The same commitment to safety that has reduced the number of recordable injuries also has led to fewer severe injuries. This is indicated by the Lost Time Case Rate, which represents the total annual number of cases per 100 workers that resulted in an employee being unable to return to work or perform normal duties the day after an occupational injury or illness. Occidental’s performance, which includes all of its worldwide operations, compares favorably with the 2.4 rate for all U.S. private industry based on the most recent BLS data. Oxy’s employee Lost Time Case Rate has improved about two percent per year over the last 10 years.

Our business segments rely on service contractors for specialized or short-term work. Occidental expects its contractors to share its commitment to workplace safety and reinforces this expectation by including it in its contractual agreements. HES performance is an important factor in the selection of contractors. Oxy monitors the performance of its contractors during the contract period by requiring that the company be notifi ed of all injuries along with plans to prevent recurrence. The data indicate that contractors working full time for Oxy perform far better than those doing similar work for other companies. Oxy’s 2006 consolidated worldwide full-time contractor IIR was 1.24, refl ecting a four percent improvement over the past 10 years. Based on 2005 BLS data, Oxy’s contractor results were approximately fi ve times better than the average for the U.S. construction industry.

A complete report on Occidental's safety performance is available in our HES annual report..

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