Occidental Petroleum facts for kids
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| Public company | |
| Traded as |
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| Industry | Energy industry |
| Founded | 1920 |
| Headquarters | Houston, Texas, U.S. |
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Key people
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| Products | Chemical substances |
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Production output
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3,512 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (21,490,000 GJ) per day (2021) |
| Revenue |  US$26.314 billion (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021) |
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Operating income
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US$2.790 billion (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021) |
| US$2.332 billion (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021) |
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| Total assets |  US$75.036 billion (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021) |
| Total equity | US$20.327 billion (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021) |
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Number of employees
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11,678 (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021) |
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Occidental Petroleum Corporation, often called Oxy, is a big American company. It looks for and produces oil and natural gas in the United States and the Middle East. Oxy also makes chemical substances in the United States, Canada, and Chile. The company's main office is in Houston, Texas. Oxy is one of the largest companies in the U.S. based on its income.
Contents
A Look Back: Oxy's History
Occidental Petroleum started in Los Angeles, California, in 1920. In 1957, a person named Armand Hammer became the company's leader. He helped Oxy grow a lot.
Growing Around the World
In the 1960s, Oxy started working in many new places. These included Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia, Trinidad, and the United Kingdom. In 1961, they found a large natural gas field in California.
In 1965, Oxy began exploring for oil in Libya. They worked there until 1986, when the United States stopped business with Libya. In 1968, Oxy also started making chemicals. They bought a company called Hooker Chemical Company.
In the 1970s, Oxy planned to build an oil refinery in England. But they stopped building in 1975 because of a big energy crisis.
Deals and Discoveries
In 1973, Oxy made a huge deal with the Soviet Union. They traded chemicals for natural gas. This deal was worth a lot of money. Also in 1973, Libya took over some of Oxy's oil operations in their country. But Oxy later made a new agreement to keep working there.
Oxy was one of the first companies to study how to get oil from oil shale. In 1983, Oxy and Colombia's oil company found a giant oil field called Caño Limón.
Major Events and Changes
On July 6, 1988, a very serious accident happened. An explosion on Oxy's Piper Alpha oil platform in the North Sea caused a fire. Sadly, 167 people died. This was one of the worst offshore disasters ever.
In 1990, Armand Hammer, the former leader, passed away. A new leader, Ray R. Irani, took over. Under his leadership, Oxy grew much bigger. In 2006, Ecuador took over some of Oxy's oil interests. But in 2016, Ecuador agreed to pay Oxy money for this.
In 2014, Oxy moved its main office to Houston, Texas. They also sold some of their pipeline and California oil and gas businesses.
New Technologies and Leadership
In 2015, Oxy started a big project in New Mexico. They used carbon dioxide to help get more oil out of the ground. This is called enhanced oil recovery. In 2017, they also opened a new chemical plant in Texas.
In May 2016, Vicki Hollub became the chief executive officer of Oxy. She was the first woman to lead a major U.S. oil and gas company!
In 2018, Oxy was found partly responsible for a sinkhole in Louisiana.
Buying Other Companies
Over the years, Oxy has bought many other companies to grow.
- In 1981, they bought IBP, Inc., a large meat producer.
- In 1988, they bought Cain Chemical.
- In 2005, they acquired Vintage Petroleum.
- In 2019, Oxy bought Anadarko Petroleum for a very large amount of money. This was one of the biggest oil and gas deals ever!
- In 2023, Oxy bought Carbon Engineering, a company that removes carbon dioxide from the air. They also bought CrownRock, another oil producer.
How Oxy Works
Oxy has different parts to its business.
Oil and Gas Operations
Oxy's main business is finding and producing oil and natural gas. They do this in three main areas:
- United States: Most of Oxy's oil and gas comes from the U.S. They are the biggest oil producer in the Permian Basin area. They use special methods like directional drilling and injecting carbon dioxide to get oil.
- Middle East: Oxy also has oil and gas operations in Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. They are a big oil producer in Oman and Qatar.
- Colombia: In Colombia, Oxy operates the Caño Limón oil field.
Chemical Business
Oxy has a company called OxyChem. It makes many different chemicals. These chemicals are used to make plastics, medicines, and products for cleaning water. OxyChem has factories in the United States, Canada, and Chile. They also work with another company to make potassium products.
Decarbonization Projects
Oxy is working on projects to help the environment by reducing carbon dioxide in the air.
- In 2024, Oxy teamed up with TAE Technologies. They want to use TAE's special nuclear fusion technology to power Oxy's direct air capture (DAC) projects.
- DAC is a process that takes carbon dioxide (CO2) directly out of the air. It uses a lot of energy. By using clean energy from nuclear fusion, Oxy hopes to make these projects more sustainable. This shows Oxy's goal to lower its carbon footprint and find cleaner energy solutions.
See also
- List of oil exploration and production companies
