Occidental Completes Sale of OxyChem
Rhea-AI Summary
Occidental (NYSE: OXY) completed the sale of its chemical business OxyChem to Berkshire Hathaway for $9.7 billion in cash, subject to customary purchase price adjustments, on January 2, 2026. The company said the transaction will accelerate its strategy to strengthen the balance sheet and focus on its oil and gas portfolio. An Occidental subsidiary, Environmental Resource Holdings LLC, retained OxyChem’s legacy tort claims and environmental liabilities related to historical operations outside sold facilities, and Glenn Springs Holdings will manage remedial activities. Occidental expects remediation spending over many years based on approved workplans.
Positive
- $9.7 billion cash proceeds from OxyChem sale
- Transaction intended to strengthen Occidental’s balance sheet
- Refocus on high-return oil and gas assets and core portfolio
Negative
- Occidental subsidiary retained legacy tort and environmental liabilities
- Company expects remediation spending over many years
- Sale is subject to customary purchase price adjustments
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
Peers show mixed moves: HES up 1.26% while FANG, EOG, EQT, and CNQ are modestly negative, suggesting today’s OXY news is more stock-specific than broad sector-driven.
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 10 | Earnings results | Neutral | +0.1% | Release of detailed third quarter 2025 financial results and schedules. |
| Nov 05 | Dividend declaration | Positive | -0.8% | Announcement of a regular quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share. |
| Oct 09 | Earnings call preview | Neutral | -5.3% | Scheduling of Q3 2025 results release and accompanying conference call. |
| Oct 02 | Leadership change | Neutral | -7.3% | Promotion of Richard A. Jackson to Senior Vice President and COO. |
| Oct 02 | Business divestiture deal | Positive | -7.3% | Definitive agreement to sell OxyChem to Berkshire for $9.7 billion in cash. |
Recent material and strategic announcements, including the initial OxyChem sale deal, were followed by flat-to-negative price reactions, indicating a tendency toward cautious trading around corporate events.
Over the last few months, Occidental reported lower Q3 2025 results and outlined balance sheet-focused actions, including the planned $9.7 billion OxyChem sale. It also maintained its capital return profile with a $0.24 quarterly dividend and made leadership changes at the COO level. The earlier announcement of the OxyChem sale to Berkshire in early October 2025 coincided with a notable share price decline, providing context for how investors previously reacted to this strategic divestiture now being completed.
Regulatory & Risk Context
The company has an effective S-3ASR shelf registration filed on 2025-07-28 that remains valid through 2028-07-28, with no recorded usage so far. This provides flexibility to raise capital in the future without specifying any registered amount in the available data.
Market Pulse Summary
This announcement confirms the closing of the $9.7 billion OxyChem sale to Berkshire Hathaway and clarifies that Occidental retains legacy tort claims and environmental liabilities through a subsidiary. It continues a broader balance sheet and portfolio reshaping effort highlighted in recent filings and prior divestiture plans. Investors may watch how proceeds are deployed, future liability remediation spending, and subsequent capital allocation or asset mix decisions.
Jargon Translator
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
HOUSTON, Jan. 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Occidental (NYSE: OXY) announced today it has completed the sale of its chemical business, OxyChem, to Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) for
“This transaction accelerates our strategy to strengthen Occidental’s balance sheet and focus on our deep and diverse oil and gas portfolio which we have transformed over the last decade. We expect to operate our high-return oil and gas assets to deliver long-term value while driving innovation across our businesses,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Vicki Hollub. “We thank the OxyChem team for their decades of excellence and commitment to building a world-class enterprise, and we look forward to their continued success in the years ahead.”
As previously disclosed, an Occidental subsidiary, Environmental Resource Holdings, LLC (ERH), has retained OxyChem’s legacy tort claims and environmental liabilities primarily associated with historical operations outside of the footprint of the operating facilities that were sold. Glenn Springs Holdings, Inc. will continue to manage the remedial activities at environmental sites on behalf of ERH. Occidental expects to expend funds for remediation over many years based on the approved workplans.
About Occidental
Occidental produces, markets and transports oil and natural gas to maximize value and provide resources fundamental to life. The company leverages its global leadership in carbon management to advance lower-carbon technologies and products. Headquartered in Houston, Occidental primarily operates in the United States, Middle East and North Africa. To learn more, visit oxy.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements about Occidental’s expectations, beliefs, plans or forecasts. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, expectations, projections, goals, forecasts, assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Actual outcomes or results may differ from anticipated results, sometimes materially. Factors that could cause results to differ from those projected or assumed in any forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions, including slowdowns and recessions, domestically or internationally; Occidental’s indebtedness and other payment obligations, including the need to generate sufficient cash flows to fund operations; Occidental’s ability to successfully monetize select assets and repay or refinance debt and the impact of changes in Occidental’s credit ratings or future increases in interest rates; assumptions about energy markets; global and local commodity and commodity-futures pricing fluctuations and volatility; supply and demand considerations for, and the prices of, Occidental’s products and services; actions by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC oil producing countries; results from operations and competitive conditions; future impairments of Occidental’s proved and unproved oil and gas properties or equity investments, or write-downs of productive assets, causing charges to earnings; unexpected changes in costs; government actions (including the effects of announced or future tariff increases and other geopolitical, trade, tariff, fiscal and regulatory uncertainties), war (including the Russia-Ukraine war and conflicts in the Middle East) and political conditions and events; inflation, its impact on markets and economic activity and related monetary policy actions by governments in response to inflation; availability of capital resources, levels of capital expenditures and contractual obligations; the regulatory approval environment, including Occidental's ability to timely obtain or maintain permits or other government approvals, including those necessary for drilling and/or development projects; Occidental's ability to successfully complete, or any material delay of, field developments, expansion projects, capital expenditures, efficiency projects, acquisitions or divestitures; risks associated with acquisitions, mergers and joint ventures, such as difficulties integrating businesses, uncertainty associated with financial projections or projected synergies, restructuring, increased costs and adverse tax consequences; uncertainties and liabilities associated with acquired and divested properties and businesses, including retained liabilities and indemnification obligations associated with the chemical business; uncertainties about the estimated quantities of oil, natural gas liquids (NGL) and natural gas reserves; lower-than-expected production from development projects or acquisitions; Occidental’s ability to realize the anticipated benefits from prior or future streamlining actions to reduce fixed costs, simplify or improve processes and improve Occidental’s competitiveness; exploration, drilling and other operational risks; disruptions to, capacity constraints in, or other limitations on the pipeline systems that deliver Occidental’s oil and natural gas and other processing and transportation considerations; volatility in the securities, capital or credit markets, including capital market disruptions and instability of financial institutions; health, safety and environmental (HSE) risks, costs and liability under existing or future federal, regional, state, provincial, tribal, local and international HSE laws, regulations and litigation (including related to climate change or remedial actions or assessments); legislative or regulatory changes, including changes relating to hydraulic fracturing or other oil and natural gas operations, retroactive royalty or production tax regimes, and deep-water and onshore drilling and permitting regulations; Occidental’s ability to recognize intended benefits from its business strategies and initiatives, such as the OxyChem divestiture, Occidental’s low-carbon ventures businesses or announced greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets or net-zero goals; changes in government grant or loan programs; potential liability resulting from pending or future litigation, government investigations and other proceedings; disruption or interruption of production or manufacturing or facility damage due to accidents, chemical releases, labor unrest, weather, power outages, natural disasters, cyber-attacks, terrorist acts or insurgent activity; the scope and duration of global or regional health pandemics or epidemics and actions taken by government authorities and other third parties in connection therewith; the creditworthiness and performance of Occidental’s counterparties, including financial institutions, operating partners and other parties; failure of risk management; Occidental’s ability to retain and hire key personnel; supply, transportation and labor constraints; reorganization or restructuring of Occidental’s operations; changes in state, federal or international tax rates, deductions, incentives or credits; and actions by third parties that are beyond Occidental's control. Words such as “estimate,” “project,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “may,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “intend,” “expect,” “goal,” “target,” “commit,” “advance,” “assumption” or similar expressions that convey the prospective nature of events or outcomes generally indicate forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release unless an earlier date is specified. Unless legally required, Occidental does not undertake any obligation to update, modify or withdraw any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those described in any forward-looking statement appear in Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors” of Occidental’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, in Part II, Item 1A “Risk Factors” of Occidental’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2025 and in Occidental’s other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contacts
| Media | Investors |
| Eric Moses | R. Jordan Tanner |
| 713-497-2017 | 713-552-8811 |
| eric_moses@oxy.com | investors@oxy.com |
FAQ
What did Occidental (OXY) sell on January 2, 2026 and for how much?
How will the OxyChem sale affect Occidental's (OXY) strategy?
Who retains environmental liabilities after Occidental's OxyChem sale (OXY)?
Who will manage remediation at OxyChem sites after the sale involving OXY?
Will Occidental (OXY) have ongoing costs related to the OxyChem sale?
Is the $9.7 billion payment for OxyChem final and guaranteed for OXY shareholders?
