Occidental Petroleum Announces 1st Quarter 2015 Results

HOUSTON

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) announced core income for the first quarter of 2015 of $31 million ($0.04 per diluted share), compared with $560 million ($0.72 per diluted share) for the fourth quarter of 2014 and $1.1 billion ($1.38 per diluted share) for the first quarter of 2014. The first quarter of 2015 had a reported loss of $218 million ($0.28 per diluted share), compared with a loss of $3.4 billion ($4.41 per diluted share) for the fourth quarter of 2014 and reported income of $1.4 billion ($1.75 per diluted share) for the first quarter of 2014. The first quarter of 2015 included non-core charges of $249 million, comprised mainly of asset impairment charges for certain domestic and international assets.

Cash flow from continuing operations before working capital changes was about $1.1 billion for the first quarter of 2015. Working capital changes of $0.6 billion were a result of lower realized prices, which impacted receivable collections and payments related to higher capital and operating spending accrued in the fourth quarter of 2014, but not paid until the first quarter of 2015. Total company capital expenditures for the first quarter of 2015 were $1.7 billion. The Oil and Gas segment spent $1.5 billion, with Permian Resources expenditures representing nearly 50 percent of the total expenditures, and the remaining $200 million was split between the Chemical and Midstream segments.

“Our first quarter production was 645,000 BOE per day, an increase of 13 percent on a year-over-year basis or 72,000 BOE per day,” said Stephen I. Chazen, President and Chief Executive Officer. “The increase was led by Permian Resources which delivered a 46-percent increase to 98,000 BOE per day, of which oil production grew by 25,000 barrels a day. Based on our first quarter results and a more optimistic outlook for the remainder of the year, we are raising our guidance for 2015 average production to grow between 60,000 and 80,000 BOE per day compared to the 2014 rate of 591,000 BOE per day. This is 20,000 BOE per day higher than our previous outlook. We expect to be cash flow neutral for operating cash flow after capital expenditures and dividend outlays by the fourth quarter of this year at oil prices of roughly $60 a barrel. This is driven by expected improvements in cost efficiencies and continued production growth.”

QUARTERLY RESULTS
Oil and Gas

Domestic core after-tax results were a loss of $89 million for the first quarter of 2015, compared to income of $412 million for the first quarter of 2014. The current quarter domestic results reflected significantly lower commodity prices for all products, especially crude oil, partially offset by higher crude oil volumes and lower DD&A expense. International core after-tax earnings were $200 million for the first quarter of 2015, compared to $553 million for the first quarter of 2014. The current quarter international results primarily reflected lower crude oil realized prices.

For the first quarter of 2015, total company average daily oil and gas production volumes increased by 72,000 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) to 645,000 BOE from 573,000 BOE in the first quarter of 2014, which excludes Hugoton production. Domestic average daily production increased by 24,000 BOE to 326,000 BOE in the current quarter with the majority of the increase coming from oil production, which grew by 25,000 barrels to 198,000 barrels per day, substantially all coming from Permian Resources. The increase in domestic oil production was partially offset by lower natural gas production in the Midcontinent and Other regions. International average daily production increased to 319,000 BOE in the first quarter of 2015 from 271,000 BOE in first quarter of 2014. Approximately half of the increase resulted from the impact of production-sharing contracts due to the low crude oil price environment, and the remainder from the commencement of production for the Al Hosn Gas Project and operational improvements. Total company average daily sales volumes grew from 562,000 BOE in the first quarter of 2014 to 637,000 BOE in the same period of 2015. Sales volumes were lower than production volumes mainly due to the timing of liftings in Iraq, which have resumed in the second quarter.

Worldwide commodity prices for the first quarter of 2015 continued to decline significantly from the fourth quarter of 2014. The average quarterly WTI and Brent marker prices decreased to $48.63 per barrel and $55.17 per barrel, respectively, compared to $98.68 per barrel and $107.90 per barrel, respectively, for the first quarter of 2014. Worldwide realized crude oil prices decreased by 51 percent to $48.50 per barrel for the first quarter of 2015, compared with $98.14 per barrel for the first quarter of 2014, and decreased by 32 percent, compared with $71.58 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2014. Worldwide NGL prices decreased by 57 percent to $17.96 per barrel in the first quarter of 2015, compared with $41.70 per barrel in the first quarter of 2014, and decreased by 34 percent, compared with $27.39 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2014. Domestic natural gas prices decreased 43 percent in the first quarter of 2015 to $2.49 per MCF, compared with $4.39 per MCF in the first quarter of 2014, and fell by 30 percent, compared with $3.56 per MCF in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Chemical

Chemical pre-tax core earnings for the first quarter of 2015 were $139 million, compared to $136 million in the first quarter of 2014. The slightly higher earnings were the result of margin improvement across most product lines resulting from lower ethylene and natural gas costs, offset primarily by lower caustic soda sales volumes.

Midstream, Marketing and Other

Midstream pre-tax core results were a loss of $5 million for the first quarter of 2015, compared with income of $96 million for the first quarter of 2014. The decrease in midstream earnings reflected lower gas plant results due to the decline in NGL prices, lower pipeline income as a result of lower Dolphin Pipeline gas sales and reduced ownership in the Plains Pipeline GP as a result of the fourth quarter 2014 sale of a portion of Occidental’s interest, and lower marketing margins due to unfavorable Midland to Gulf Coast spreads.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation is an international oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, Middle East region and Latin America. Headquartered in Houston, Occidental is one of the largest U.S. oil and gas companies, based on equity market capitalization. Occidental’s midstream and marketing segment gathers, processes, transports, stores, purchases and markets hydrocarbons and other commodities in support of Occidental’s businesses. The company’s wholly owned subsidiary OxyChem manufactures and markets chlor-alkali products and vinyls.

Forward-Looking Statements

Portions of this press release contain forward-looking statements and involve risks and uncertainties that could materially affect expected results of operations, liquidity, cash flows and business prospects. Actual results may differ from anticipated results, sometimes materially, and reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance. Factors that could cause results to differ include, but are not limited to: global commodity pricing fluctuations; supply and demand considerations for Occidental’s products; higher-than-expected costs; the regulatory approval environment; reorganization or restructuring of Occidental’s operations; not successfully completing, or any material delay of, field developments, expansion projects, capital expenditures, efficiency projects, acquisitions or dispositions; lower-than-expected production from development projects or acquisitions; exploration risks; general economic slowdowns domestically or internationally; political conditions and events; liability under environmental regulations including remedial actions; litigation; disruption or interruption of production or manufacturing or facility damage due to accidents, chemical releases, labor unrest, weather, natural disasters, cyber attacks or insurgent activity; failure of risk management; changes in law or regulations; or changes in tax rates. Words such as “estimate,” “project,” “predict,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “may,” “might,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “intend,” “believe,” “expect,” “aim,” “goal,” “target,” “objective,” “likely” 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 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. Material risks that may affect Occidental’s results of operations and financial position appear in Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors” of the 2014 Form 10-K. Occidental posts or provides links to important information on its website at www.oxy.com.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation
Media:
Melissa E. Schoeb
713-366-5615
melissa_schoeb@oxy.com
or
Investors:
Christopher M. Degner
212-603-8111
christopher_degner@oxy.com
On the web: www.oxy.com