Occidental Reviews Company's Top Quartile Industry Performance at Annual Stockholders Meeting


LOS ANGELES, May 5, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Occidental Petroleum Corporation's (NYSE:OXY) Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Ray R. Irani, reported on the company's industry-leading 2005 performance today at the company's annual stockholders meeting.

"By almost every measure, 2005 was an excellent year for Oxy," Dr. Irani reported. "Record oil and gas operating income and strong operating income from our chemicals business pushed our consolidated net income to an historic high of $5.3 billion. Cash flow from operations also hit an all-time high of $5.3 billion. We ended the year with the strongest balance sheet in the company's history. Total debt was reduced to $3 billion, and stockholders' equity rose to a record $15 billion. Worldwide oil and gas production of more than 207 million barrels of oil equivalent was higher than our previous record set in 2004, and we ended the year with proved reserves at a record high level of over 2.7 billion equivalent barrels."

The company's 2005 profits and cash flow per equivalent barrel led the industry for the seventh consecutive year. During the five-year period, from 2001 through 2005, Occidental's total return to stockholders of 279 percent was substantially higher than its industry peer group.

Dr. Irani also reviewed Occidental's record first quarter performance. Net income rose to $1.2 billion, an increase of 45 percent compared to the first quarter 2005. Combined oil and gas production rose to an all-time high of 636,000 equivalent barrels per day, 13 percent higher than last year's first quarter. Production is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 6 percent from 2006 through 2010, to a minimum of 740,000 equivalent barrels per day in 2010, with additional potential for further growth.

"With only modest success in capturing new projects that are not yet in our portfolio," Dr. Irani said, "we could achieve a target production level of 850,000 equivalent barrels per day in 2010."

Dr. Irani highlighted growth projects in the United States, Argentina, Oman and Libya. In the U.S., Occidental expects to increase 2006 production in its Permian Basin operations in Texas and New Mexico to 200,000 equivalent barrels per day. Occidental also expects to double production over the next five years from its recently acquired Argentina assets, to approximately 70,000 equivalent barrels per day. In Oman, Occidental and its partners plan to raise production from the giant Mukhaizna field from 8,500 barrels per day to 150,000 barrels per day within the next few years.

Occidental currently has the largest acreage position in Libya, with holdings exceeding 30 million acres. Oxy's ongoing exploration program in Libya is the largest such effort in the company's history and Oxy plans to drill at least four test wells there this year. Occidental currently produces about 22,000 net barrels of oil per day in Libya from its historic leases.

Dr. Irani showed that a $100 investment in Occidental at the end of 2000 would have generated a total return to stockholders of $379 by the end of 2005. By comparison, a $100 investment in Occidental's composite peer group would have yielded $229, while the same investment in the Standard & Poors 500 Index would have been worth only $103.

"When a company achieves these kind of results, investors want to know if and how we can sustain this level of performance in the future," said Dr. Irani. "I'm confident we can because we have focused on the fundamentals to keep our oil and gas reserve base growing."

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this release that contain words such as "will," "expect" or "estimate," or otherwise relate to the future, are forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect expected results. Factors that could cause results to differ materially include, but are not limited to: exploration risks such as drilling of unsuccessful wells; global commodity pricing fluctuations and supply/demand considerations for oil, gas and chemicals; higher-than-expected costs; political risk; changes in tax rates; unrealized acquisition benefits or higher than expected integration costs; potential failure to achieve expected production from existing and future oil and gas development projects; and not successfully completing (or any material delay in) any expansion, capital expenditure, acquisition, or disposition. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date of this release. Unless legally required, Occidental does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. U.S. investors are urged to consider carefully the disclosure in our Form 10-K, available through the following toll-free telephone number, 1-888-OXYPETE (1-888-699-7383) or on the Internet at http://www.oxy.com. You also can obtain a copy from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.



            

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