Occidental Petroleum reduces debt and raises dividend after divesting its chemicals division to Berkshire Hathaway.
Occidental Petroleum (OXY) sold its chemicals division to Berkshire Hathaway for $5.8 billion, reducing its debt to $15 billion. The company also raised its dividend by 8% to $0.26 per share, signaling confidence in its simplified Permian-focused strategy.
The move follows Occidental’s shift toward becoming a pure-play driller, contrasting with Exxon Mobil’s (XOM) diversified global production and LNG expansion. OXY’s forward P/E stands at 11x, below Exxon’s 14x, as WTI crude trades at $101.56.
Exxon, meanwhile, reported Q1 2026 adjusted EPS of $1.16, beating consensus by 15%, and deployed $4.9 billion in stock buybacks as Guyana production reached 900,000 barrels per day.