Occidental Petroleum AGM: CEO Vicki Hollub to Retire June 1, COO Richard Jackson to Take Over

Key Factors

• Management transition: Vicki Hollub will retire as president and CEO on June 1 however stay on the board, with COO Richard Jackson named president and CEO and becoming a member of the board the identical day.

• Sturdy 2025 outcomes and balance-sheet progress: Occidental delivered file manufacturing of 1.43 million BOE/day, added 2.5 billion BOE of sources to achieve 16.5 billion BOE, generated $10.5 billion in working money circulate ($4.3 billion free money circulate), used OxyChem sale proceeds to chop principal debt to about $13.8 billion, and raised the dividend (annualized to $1.04 per share after a February enhance).

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Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) used its 2026 annual assembly of shareholders to spotlight what President and CEO Vicki Hollub referred to as a “transformational” decade for the corporate, marked by portfolio adjustments, expanded sources, and steadiness sheet work. Hollub additionally introduced a management transition, saying she’s going to retire as CEO on June 1 however stay on the board, with present Chief Working Officer Richard Jackson set to develop into president and CEO and be part of the board the identical day.

Hollub particulars portfolio shift and OxyChem divestiture

Hollub mentioned the corporate’s “final main step” in its 10-year plan was the sale of OxyChem, which was introduced the prior 12 months and closed in January. She mentioned the divestiture, “made attainable by the standard of our oil and gasoline portfolio,” strengthened the steadiness sheet and can permit Occidental to “ship higher worth” from its high-return oil and gasoline belongings. “Because of this,” she mentioned, “the portfolio we have now right this moment is the strongest Oxy has ever had.”

2025 working and monetary outcomes highlighted

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Reviewing 2025 efficiency, Hollub mentioned Occidental delivered file annual manufacturing of 1.43 million barrels of oil equal per day whereas spending $300 million much less in oil and gasoline capital and decreasing working bills by $275 million. She added that staff achieved these outcomes whereas setting “a brand new security efficiency file.”

Hollub additionally mentioned the corporate elevated its useful resource base by 2.5 billion BOE in 2025 to 16.5 billion BOE, in comparison with 8 billion BOE in 2015. She mentioned that useful resource base supplies “greater than 30 years of low-cost growth alternative,” which Occidental can optimize utilizing its enhanced oil restoration experience throughout standard and unconventional fields.

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On money technology, Hollub mentioned Occidental produced $10.5 billion of working money circulate and $4.3 billion of free money circulate earlier than working capital in 2025. She mentioned that efficiency enabled the corporate to speed up principal debt discount by $4 billion. Together with web proceeds from the OxyChem divestiture, Hollub mentioned principal debt was diminished to roughly $13.8 billion as of March 19, the date of the proxy assertion.

Dividend, effectivity initiatives, and steadiness sheet priorities

Hollub mentioned the corporate’s monetary efficiency supported a February enhance within the quarterly dividend, which she mentioned was up greater than 18% for the reason that starting of 2025. In response to a shareholder query about dividend development, Hollub mentioned a “sustainable and rising dividend stays central to our technique.” She mentioned the board approved “a greater than 8% enhance” within the widespread dividend in February, bringing the annual fee—topic to board approval—to $1.04 per share from $0.96 beforehand.

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Hollub tied dividend capability to efforts taken for the reason that CrownRock acquisition introduced in December 2023, saying the corporate has labored to strengthen the steadiness sheet, enhance resilience in decrease commodity worth environments, and “release money from curiosity funds to extend the quarterly dividend.” She added, “we’ve virtually doubled our dividend over that point interval.”

Trying ahead, Hollub mentioned Occidental is concentrated on extending and enhancing its low-cost useful resource base, producing resilient free money circulate by means of commodity worth cycles, and driving value and capital effectivity. She mentioned the corporate has already seen “appreciable effectivity positive factors” from implementing synthetic intelligence throughout the enterprise and expects extra positive factors over time, whereas persevering with to prioritize web debt discount.

CEO transition and board refreshment dialogue

Hollub informed shareholders she’s going to retire as president and CEO on June 1 after 10 years within the position however will stay on the board. She mentioned the corporate is “well-positioned for the subsequent stage of our technique,” including that Richard Jackson’s “expertise, operational experience, imaginative and prescient, and keenness” make him “completely suited” to steer that subsequent stage.

Board Chairman Jack Moore thanked Hollub for her service and mentioned she helped construct a tradition targeted on teamwork, innovation, and operational excellence. Moore additionally mentioned Hollub, as the primary feminine CEO of a serious U.S. oil and gasoline firm, helped “pave the way in which for the subsequent technology of girls within the oil and gasoline business.”

Responding to shareholder questions on board composition and refreshment—together with oversight in what was described because the “intelligence age”—Company Secretary Nicole Clark mentioned the corporate had 10 director nominees up for election, 9 of whom have been impartial. Clark mentioned the board is dedicated to ongoing refreshment and balancing tenure, backgrounds, and abilities, noting that “a 3rd of the Impartial Administrators” started service inside the previous 5 years.

Moore added that the governance committee periodically discusses refreshment and that the board conducts annual efficiency evaluations that embody rating most popular director abilities and {qualifications}. Whereas he mentioned the present board measurement and compensation are working properly, Moore mentioned the board might be “opportunistic” about including members with an emphasis on “business expertise and expertise,” and that administrators obtain briefings on Occidental’s AI and expertise initiatives.

Voting outcomes and shareholder Q&A matters

Clark reported preliminary voting outcomes displaying broad help throughout all proposals. Shareholders authorized:

• Election of every of the ten director nomineeswith a mean degree of help of 98%

• Advisory approval of named government officer compensationwith over 94% help

• Ratification of KPMG as impartial auditor for the fiscal 12 months ending Dec. 31, 2026, with over 97% help

In further shareholder Q&A after the formal assembly, Hollub addressed questions on worldwide operations and pure gasoline pricing. On the Center East, she acknowledged staff, companions, and host governments for specializing in security and asset reliability “below very difficult circumstances,” and mentioned the corporate is carefully monitoring the battle. Hollub mentioned Occidental’s footprint is “considerably extra home now,” decreasing geopolitical publicity, and added she doesn’t anticipate the corporate’s danger urge for food or asset combine to considerably change. She mentioned Occidental would offer an replace on the battle’s operational and monetary impacts on its earnings name the next week.

On U.S. pure gasoline realizations versus market benchmarks, Hollub mentioned elevated unconventional oil manufacturing within the Permian and DJ basins—mixed with restricted native demand—has created “unprecedented volumes of related gasoline” that have to be transported lengthy distances, resulting in decrease realized costs in Occidental’s working areas. She mentioned the midstream and advertising and marketing group works with companions to maximise the mixed worth of oil, NGLs, and gasoline by optimizing contracts and utilizing pure gasoline storage belongings throughout market dislocations. Hollub added that rising electrical energy demand may have an effect on regional and seasonal pure gasoline demand and each benchmark and realized costs in coming years.

About Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY)

Occidental Petroleum Company (OXY) is a global power firm engaged primarily within the exploration, manufacturing and advertising and marketing of oil and pure gasoline. The corporate conducts upstream actions to find and produce hydrocarbons and operates complementary midstream and advertising and marketing capabilities to move and promote its manufacturing. Occidental additionally owns a chemical substances enterprise that manufactures and sells industrial chemical substances and associated merchandise for a variety of finish markets.

Occidental’s operations are concentrated in the USA, with a big presence within the Permian Basin, and it maintains exploration and manufacturing actions in a number of worldwide areas, together with elements of the Center East, Latin America and Africa.

The article “Occidental Petroleum AGM: CEO Vicki Hollub to Retire June 1, COO Richard Jackson to Take Over” was initially printed by MarketBeat.