Occidental Petroleum Corp. announced a cash tender offer to repurchase up to $700 million of its outstanding senior notes and debentures. The offer covers Zero‑Coupon Senior Notes due 2036, 6.125% Senior Notes due 2031, 6.625% Senior Notes due 2030, 7.200% Debentures due 2029, and 7.950% Debentures due 2029, with a sub‑cap of $58 million for the 2036 notes.
The tender is part of Occidental’s broader deleveraging program that followed the $9.7 billion sale of its OxyChem unit to Berkshire Hathaway on January 2, 2026. The sale allowed the company to cut principal debt from $22.9 billion to roughly $15 billion, a reduction of $7.5 billion over the past 13 months that has already saved about $410 million in annual interest.
With the tender, Occidental expects to further lower its debt‑to‑equity ratio, which stood at 0.82 in the latest quarter, and to reduce interest expense to $220 million in the first quarter of 2026 and $810 million for the full year. The sale of OxyChem is projected to cut more than $350 million in annual interest, giving the company additional capacity for capital allocation.
Vicki Hollub, President and CEO, said, "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." She added, "We expect to operate our high‑return oil and gas assets to deliver long‑term value while driving innovation across our businesses." CFO Sunil Mathew highlighted the company’s deleveraging target, noting a goal of reducing principal debt to $10 billion and that 2026 capital is a good starting point for sustaining capital with modest growth potential from efficiency gains.
The announcement was well received by investors, who viewed the tender as a clear signal of Occidental’s commitment to maintaining a lean capital structure while preserving flexibility for future operational and strategic initiatives. The company’s capital plan for 2026 projects spending between $5.5 billion and $5.9 billion, and it has increased its quarterly dividend by more than 8% to $0.26 per share, underscoring a balanced approach to debt reduction and shareholder returns.
Occidental also seeks consents to amend certain covenants in its debt indentures, aiming to eliminate restrictive covenants and shorten the redemption notice period to five business days. These changes are intended to provide the company with greater operational flexibility as it continues to pursue its long‑term growth strategy.
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