Occidental Slashes Payout for First Time in 30 Years on Rout
- Texas oil explorer is conserving cash to cover Anadarko debt
- Historic oil crash is putting pressure on entire crude sector
This article is for subscribers only.
Occidental Petroleum Corp. cut its dividend for the first time in 30 years as the oil producer opts to conserve cash to cover debt incurred in its $37 billion takeover of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. last year.
The company slashed the payout 86% after oil prices plunged this week, adding fuel to criticism from shareholders including billionaire investor Carl Icahn that Occidental took on too much debt and destroyed shareholder returns to buy Anadarko. Icahn plans to run a proxy battle against Chief Executive Officer Vicki Hollub and the board later this year.