Oxy Beats Expectations with Robust Q4 Results

Occidental Petroleum reported its strongest quarterly financial results in three years for the final three months of 2023, beating analyst expectations.

Net income attributable to shareholders came in at $1 billion for the period, which translated into $1.08 per diluted share. Adjusted earnings attributable to common shareholders came in at $710 million, or $0.74 per share.

"Our teams performed exceptionally well during the fourth quarter of 2023, concluding another year of operational excellence across all three business segments," chief executive Vicki Hollub said.

"We are continuing to focus on delivering long-term value for our shareholders through the 22% increase in our dividend and strategic transactions to high-grade our domestic portfolio and advance our low-carbon initiatives, including the closing of the Carbon Engineering acquisition."

Oxy has made a solid bet on carbon capture, planning significant investments in the technology while also taking advantage of federal government support for the technology that is believed to be a key element of the energy transition.

In oil production, Oxy booked a daily average of 1.234 million barrels of oil equivalent for the final quarter of 2023, which was a quarterly increase of 7,000 bpd.

For this year, the oil producer plans a modest increase in its output, to 1.25 million bpd, excluding the additional production from CrownRock, which stands at 170,000 barrels daily.

Oxy struck the deal to acquire CrownRock back in December, when it agreed to pay $12 billion for the Permian driller in cash and stock. 

“We found CrownRock to be a strategic fit, giving us the opportunity to build scale in the Midland Basin and positioning us to drive value creation for our shareholders with immediate free cash flow accretion,” Hollub said at the time.

Large oil producers have been on a shopping spree in the Permian as the only left means of expansion in the most prolific shale play in the country.

By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com

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