Occidental Petroleum 2016 Capital Program Not To Exceed $3.0 Bln - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) announced the company's 2016 capital program is expected to be no more than $3.0 billion with production growth of 2 to 4 percent from ongoing operations. The company's 2015 capital spending was down by 36 percent compared to a year ago, and total company production grew by 14 percent with Permian Resources growing 47 percent.

CEO Stephen Chazen said: "While the 2016 price environment remains challenging, we will commit capital to only our highest return projects. The company's cash flow priorities remain the same, with the most important being the safety and maintenance of our operations and funding dividends."

For the fourth quarter of 2015, total company average daily oil and gas production volumes, excluding Williston, increased to 671,000 BOE from 596,000 BOE in the fourth quarter of 2014.

The company said its total oil and gas after-tax results reflected a loss of $189 million for the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to income of $317 million for the fourth quarter of 2014. The company said the decrease in oil and gas results was due to the continued decline in commodity prices in the fourth quarter of 2015, partially offset by higher volumes and lower operating expenses.