Occidental aims to re-establish dividends and grow that dividend in the next 10 years. Silvia Razgova / The National
Occidental aims to re-establish dividends and grow that dividend in the next 10 years. Silvia Razgova / The National
Occidental aims to re-establish dividends and grow that dividend in the next 10 years. Silvia Razgova / The National
Occidental aims to re-establish dividends and grow that dividend in the next 10 years. Silvia Razgova / The National

Occidental to focus on dividend payments, not growing volumes


Fareed Rahman
  • English
  • Arabic

US oil company Occidental Petroleum aims to raise margins and re-establish dividend payments for its shareholders rather than focus on growing its oil production volumes, its chief executive said.

“We don’t see that in 2022 and beyond that we need to grow significantly,” Vicki Hollub told an online panel on Thursday at the Energy Intelligence Forum. “Our focus in the next 10 years will be more to re-establish a dividend and grow that dividend.”

She said the capital allocation will be critical and “every dollar we invest goes to the projects that deliver most value over time”.

“The investors will be watching very closely what we do and how we do it, and we are trying very hard to continue to increase our margins rather than grow our volumes.”

Occidental, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is one of the top energy companies in the world with oil and gas assets in the US, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. It is also active in Abu Dhabi and Oman.

“Right now our break-evens are less than $40. The lower we can get those break-evens the better we are able to continue to provide value in a low cycle environment,” Ms Hollub said.

The company does not expect US oil production to grow significantly to reach previous peak levels of 13 million barrels per day. It will remain above 12 million barrels per day, she said.

Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia's energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman also signalled the end of an era for the US shale oil industry and said: "Drill baby drill is gone for ever".

The development is expected to be positive for oil prices, which are currently trading higher on the back of improved demand as global economies recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

Occidental was awarded a $140 million contract to develop an onshore block by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company last year.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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China

3.

UAE

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Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

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Singapore

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Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

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South Korea

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

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The specs

Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder

Transmission: 7-speed auto

0-100kmh 2.3 seconds

0-200kmh 5.5 seconds

0-300kmh 11.6 seconds

Power: 1500hp

Torque: 1600Nm

Price: Dh13,400,000

On sale: now

Updated: October 08, 2021, 4:30 AM`