LOS ANGELES, July 19, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) announced today that its Board of Directors has increased the quarterly dividend to $.25 per share of common stock for an annual rate of $1.00 per share, compared to the previous annual rate of $.88 per share. The dividend will be payable on October 15, 2007, to stockholders of record on September 10, 2007.
"This is a 13.6 percent increase in Oxy's annual dividend and is the company's sixth increase in the past five years, bringing our compound annual dividend growth rate over the five years to 14.6 percent," said Dr. Ray R. Irani Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.
"Production growth with good returns, share repurchases and dividend growth are the cornerstones of our creating top quartile results. This dividend increase reflects our confidence in the company's continued strong financial and operational performance. The Board will continue to evaluate the dividend policy annually," said Dr. Irani.
About Oxy
Occidental Petroleum Corporation is an international oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, Middle East/North Africa and Latin America regions. Oxy is the fourth largest U.S. oil and gas company, based on equity market capitalization. Oxy's wholly owned subsidiary, OxyChem, manufactures and markets chlor-alkali products and vinyls. Occidental is committed to safeguarding the environment, protecting the safety and health of employees and neighboring communities and upholding high standards of social responsibility in all of the company's worldwide operations.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this release that contain words such as "will," "expect" or "estimate," or otherwise relate to the future, are forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect expected results. Factors that could cause results to differ materially include, but are not limited to: exploration risks such as drilling of unsuccessful wells, global commodity pricing fluctuations and supply/demand considerations for oil, gas and chemicals; higher than expected costs; political risks; changes in tax rates; unrealized acquisition benefits or higher than expected integration costs; and not successfully completing (or any material delay in) any expansion, capital expenditure, acquisition or disposition. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date of this release. Unless legally required, Occidental does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. U.S. investors are urged to consider carefully the disclosure in our Form 10-K, available through 1-888-699-7383 or at www.oxy.com. You also can obtain a copy from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.