Occidental Petroleum to spin off California assets, move to Houston

Source: LA Times

Occidental Petroleum is ending a nearly century-long run as a storied Los Angeles energy company and moving its headquarters to Houston as part of a corporate overhaul.

The nation's fourth-largest oil firm also announced plans Friday to spin off its California assets into a separate publicly traded company based in the Southland. Occidental will continue to employ about 8,000 employees and contractors in the state.

The company's split signals the end of an era for Occidental, which was founded in 1920 and led for many years by oil industry legend Armand Hammer. Oxy, as the company is known, was even involved in far-flung operations such as film production and cattle breeding before eventually becoming an oil giant.

Occidental's shake-up follows a tumultuous year in which activist investors angry over how the company was run orchestrated a boardroom reshuffle. The company has responded by cutting costs and boosting its share price after falling behind competitors in recent years.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-occidental-split-20140215,0,7405626.story