The Occidental Petroleum HQ in The Woodlands, Texas - Bloomberg
New York: Occidental Petroleum Corp is in talks to sell its OxyChem petrochemical unit in a deal worth at least US$10bil, the Financial Times (FT) reports.
The divestment would be the US company’s biggest yet and would create one of the world’s largest standalone petrochemical companies, according to the FT, which cited two people familiar with the matter that it didn’t identify. The potential buyer couldn’t immediately be determined.
Occidental, which is backed by Warren Buffett, has been divesting assets in an effort to reduce debt. The divestment is likely to be announced in the coming weeks, the report said.
The Houston-based firm previously helped drive a consolidation in US oil and gas that includes its takeover of Anadarko Petroleum Corp in 2019 and the US$10.8bil acquisition of CrownRock LP last year. — Bloomberg
