US independent Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) continues to preach capital discipline despite the recent surge in oil prices. The firm also plans $2-3bn in asset divestments by mid-2021 as it seeks to pay-down the debt burden stemming from 2019’s $55bn Anadarko acquisition.
The firm this week announced fourth quarter losses of $731mn, bringing full year losses up to $3.59bn. This was a huge swing from 2019’s $1.18bn profit. CEO Vicki Hollub told Oxy’s 23 February earnings call that “2020 was a year of extreme volatility for our industry and the world. With the year now behind us, our operations have returned to a normalized activity level in support of stabilizing our full-year [2021] production at our fourth-quarter 2020 rate. We entered 2021 with an improved financial position by taking the necessary steps to protect our asset base and de-risk our balance sheet.” (CONTINUED - 1365 WORDS)
