Oxy.com
Company
Occidental Petroleum Corporation is an international energy solutions company, utilizing the exploration and development of petroleum, coal, and phosphates. They are a world leader in oil and gas production, as well as being a major North American chemical manufacturer. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, and was founding in 1920.
Website
The website is a straightforward public web presence with sections containing information about their business, investor relations, their social responsibility philosophy, a press room, and employment with their company.
- The business section includes information about their oil and gas segment, chemical segment, and energy marketing.
- The investor section has stock performance annual reports and news affecting their stock.
- The social responsibility section is separated into five, distinct sections:
- HES systems & structure
- Health & safety
- Environmental performance
- Community enrichment
- Ethical business conduct
- The careers section contains information on available positions, responsible workplace practices, employee development, and internships.
- The press section includes a listing of recent press releases, a downloadable archive of publications, and a form to request hard copy print-outs of documents.
History
Occidental Petroleum was founded by the late Armand Hammer, the famous American industrialist, philanthropist, and art collector. Because international oil production is inextricably linked with politics, the company has occasionally been featured in the news, in light of its fuel exploration and production activities in such political hot spots as the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War and Libya during the Gulf War.
In light of current global politics, Occidental Petroleum can look forward to continuing to be the subject of much broad scrutiny and speculation by the media, since the location of oil resources around the world and the politics of the countries which happen to be on top of that oil inevitably coincide. Occidental Petroleum is therefore careful to act as a global diplomat while conducting its business.
This is reflected in the noted philanthropy of the company's founder. In recognition of a lifetime of generosity and global diplomacy in supporting causes related to education, medicine, and the arts, Armand Hammer was distinguished in receiving the following awards:
- The Soviet Union's Lenin Order of Friendship Among the Peoples
- The U.S. National Arts Medal
- France's Legion of Honor
- Italy's Grand Order of Merit
- Sweden's Royal Order of the Polar Star
- Austria's Knight Commander's Cross
- Pakistan's Hilal-i-Quaid-Azam Peace Award
- Israel's Leadership Award
- Venezuela's Order of Andres Bello
- Mexico's National Recognition Award
- Bulgaria's Jubilee Medal
- Belgium's Order of the Crown.
Armand Hammer also narrowly missed winning a Nobel Peace Prize; he was nominated for it in 1988 for his outreach to end the Cold War.
Additionally, Hammer's donation of paintings forms the core of the art collection maintained by the UCLA Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, California. He has also been the subject of at least four biographies.
Company Philosophy
Occidental Petroleum believes that serving as a good neighbor is good business. They maintain an ethical business conduct and keep responsible workplace practices, based on the belief that these are required not only for good international business relations, but are also good for business as well. They state that their social responsibility efforts help to motivate their employees, reduce costs, minimize risk, and increase stockholder value.
Business profile
The company's total revenue as of 2004 was $11.37 billion. They are ranked #133 on the Fortune 500 index, and their annual growth rate is currently an average of 25.7%. They employ approximately 7,200 workers.
Their oil and gas production goes on in the United States, the Middle East and North Africa region, and Latin America. In the U.S., Occidental Petroleum is the largest oil producer in Texas and the largest natural gas producer in California, besides their additional operations in Kansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. In the Middle East/North Africa region they have assets in Libya, Oman, Qatar, Yemen and Qatar. Their Latin American operations include producing assets in Colombia, Argentina and Bolivia.
Languages
English
