The BusinessWeek 50 Ranking
6
Occidental Petroleum
In a page taken from the playbook of his globe-trotting predecessor, Armand Hammer, Irani paid a personal call to the desert retreat of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi last year. In January, Los Angeles-based Occidental, which discovered huge oil fields in Libya in the 1960s, emerged as the top bidder for new concessions there Profile: 19 years after sanctions against the country were first imposed. Irani, who was born in Lebanon, has been prospecting elsewhere in the Middle East, including Qatar and Oman. But even without those new fields, Oxy has been among the fastest-growing oil producers. Irani placed a big bet a few years ago by buying aging oil fields in California and Texas, then using techniques such as injecting carbon dioxide or water to pump more out of the wells. Worldwide production rose 3.5% last year, and earnings shot up 63%. Few squeeze as much out of a barrel of oil as Oxy does: Its net margin was 22.9% last year, vs. 17.3% in 2003.
Company Info
| 2004 Rank | 59 |
| STOCK INFO | OXY |
| Market Value | $27.7 BILLION |
| Total Return | (1-yr.) 61.7%
(3-yr.) 185.2% |
| 2004 sales | $11.4 BILLION |
| Sales Growth | (1-yr.) 23%
(3-yr.) 13.3% |
| Net income | $2.6 BILLION |
| Net Income Growth | (1-yr.) 63%
(3-yr.) 31.0% |
| Net Margin* | 22.9% |
| Return on Equity* | 24.7% |
| Industry | ENERGY |
| CORPORATE WEB SITE | |
More in S&P 500 Companies Scoreboard >
*Trailing 12 months
Company data as of 2/28/05 provided by Standard & Poor's Compustat
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Company Snapshot
Occidental Petroleum Corporation primarily engages in the exploration for, development, production, and marketing of crude oil and natural gas in the United States, Latin America, and Middle East. As of December 31, 2004, the company had proved reserves of 2,489 million barrels of oil and gas equivalent. Occidental also manufactures and markets basic chemicals, such as chlorine, caustic soda, potassium chemicals, and their derivatives; vinyls, including polyvinyl chloride (PVC), vinyl chloride monomer, and ethylene dichloride; and performance chemicals, including chlorinated isocyanurates, resorcinol, antimony oxide, mercaptans, and sodium silicates. PVC resins are used in piping, electrical insulation, external construction materials, flooring, medical and automotive products, and packaging. It markets its chemical products to industrial users or distributors through its own sales force. Occidental Petroleum is headquartered in Los Angels, California.
No. of Employees
7,209
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