Occidental to Cut Spending After Oil Crash Threatens Dividend
- U.S. driller needs to reduce its payout, Tudor Pickering says
- Crude price seen lower than bottom of producer’s Brent hedges
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Occidental Petroleum Corp. plans to cut capital spending after oil futures plummeted below some of its hedging levels and threatened its dividend, according to people familiar with the matter. The company’s shares tumbled by a record.
The Houston-based explorer is reacting to crude’s plunge of more than 30% on Monday to protect the payout, which Chief Executive Officer Vicki Hollub has said is “one of the defining characteristics” of the company. Rivals including Diamondback Energy Inc. and Parsley Energy Inc. also announced plans to reduce drilling activity.