Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Oxy) has announced that it has plans to sell a 30 per cent to 40 per cent stake in its Middle East oil and gas operations as part of a broader plan to split up the company
Steve Chazen, chief executive of Oxy, said there is a potential deal for its Middle Eastern and North African assets which run across countries from Libya to Iraq and Yemen.
Analysts have valued the Middle East business at US$15bn to US$20bn, and it is likely that the stake sale could bring in US$4.5bn to US$8bn, depending on its size.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation is currently the second-largest oil producer offshore Qatar. Its other holdings in the Middle East include a 24.5 per cent stake in the Dolphin Gas Project in Qatar and the UAE and assets in Bahrain and Oman.
Company sources said that Oxy has reached out to some of its current partners - Mubadala Petroleum and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company - in the Middle East in its search for buyers.
