Occidental Petroleum Corp's CEO Discussed Potential Sales of Overseas Assets, Spinoff-WSJ

The Wall Street Journal reported that Occidental Petroleum Corp may consider selling its overseas assets or splitting into three separate companies in order to fund a stock buyback and improve its share price, Chief Executive Steve Chazen told investors. According to analysts at UBS Securities, during a conference hosted by the bank in New York on May 22, 2013 Mr. Chazen said selling assets to reduce the size of the Company may be necessary for shareholders to realize greater value from the Los Angeles-based oil and gas producer. Among the scenarios Occidental is considering are selling its Middle Eastern business, which includes onshore and offshore oil and gas projects in Qatar and Oman. Mr. Chazen also discussed splitting the Company into three businesses: one focused on the overseas assets, another focused on oil production in California, Colorado and the Bakken oil fields, and a third focused on the Company's 1.7 million acres in Texas and New Mexico's Permian Basin.