Occidental Agrees to Farm out Interest in Ecuador


LOS ANGELES, Nov. 1, 2000, (PRIMEZONE) -- Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) said today that it has agreed to farm out an interest in its operations in Block 15 in Ecuador to Alberta Energy Company Ltd., of Calgary, Canada.

AEC will earn a 40-percent interest in the block and will assume certain capital costs through 2004. Occidental will remain the operator.

Occidental said that it is pursuing a number of attractive growth opportunities in Ecuador. This transaction provides for the self-funding of Occidental's capital program for existing projects in Ecuador over the next four years while freeing investment capital for new projects. The company has made debt reduction its number one priority in the near-term and it is committed to keep its capital spending within a range to continue reducing debt.

Occidental currently is engaged in an extensive exploration program in Block 15 and is moving forward with plans for the development of its 115 million barrel Eden-Yuturi oil discovery. Gross production in Block 15 now stands at 30,000 barrels per day with Occidental's share prior to the farm out at 21,000 barrels.

Both Occidental and AEC are members of a consortium of companies currently bidding to build a new crude oil pipeline in Ecuador.

The company said its ongoing development plans in Block 15, targeting an increase in gross production to 70,000 barrels per day in 2003 are tied to the successful completion of a new pipeline.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Forward-looking statements and estimates regarding exploration and production activities, oil, gas and commodity chemical prices, operating costs and their related earnings effects in this release are based on assumptions concerning market, competitive, regulatory, environmental, operational and other conditions. Actual results could differ materially as a result of factors discussed in Occidental's Annual Report on Form 10-K.



            

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