Occidental Petroleum

Clean, efficient and reliable energy supplies are critical to the growth and development of the global economy. In the United States and other industrialized nations, energy is often taken for granted, but cheap, reliable energy is what fuels economic vitality and makes possible our high-tech world, our modern lifestyles and our convenient transportation options. In developing nations, energy is a critical driver of sustained economic expansion that brings more jobs, better health care, improved educational opportunities, and higher living standards overall. As the world's demands grow, so does the need for additional energy resources. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has the expertise and experience to find and develop new sources of oil and natural gas today to fuel tomorrow's economic growth--without compromising our strong commitment to protecting the environment, promoting our high standards of social responsibility and safeguarding the health and safety of employees and neighbors. Armand Hammer is appointed president, marking the beginning of a lengthy period of diversification and expansion. Occidental acquires Iowa Beef Packers, the largest meatpacker in the United States. Occidental becomes the eighth largest petroleum company in the country after paying $4 billion for an Oklahoma-based oil company, Cities Service Company. The acquisition of Cain Chemical makes Occidental the sixth largest chemical producer in the United States. Occidental acquires the Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve and becomes the largest gas producer in California. Occidental acquires Altura Energy, making it the largest oil producer in Texas. Occidental Petroleum was founded in 1920 in California. Its early years as an oil-finding entity were largely undistinguished, with the company almost bankrupt by the mid-1950s. It was Occidental Petroleum's early difficulties, however, that laid the groundwork for its later success. In 1956 Occidental Petroleum came to the attention of Armand Hammer, a millionaire well-known for his savvy and success in business dealings with the Soviet Union in the 1920s. In 1921 Hammer had met Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Russian Revolution, and had become the first U.S. businessman to establish ties with the Soviet Union. Among other enterprises, Hammer had operated an asbestos mine, imported grain, and manufactured pencils. While in Moscow, he had purchased Russian art treasures at bargain prices, later reselling many art objects in the United States at considerable profit. (Later it was revealed that many of Hammer's treasures were fakes, and he was well aware of it.) In 1956 Hammer and his wife Frances each invested $50,000 in two oil wells that Occidental planned to drill in California. When both wells struck oil, Hammer, nearly 60, took an active interest in further Occidental oil exploration. At Hammer's first association with Occidental, the company was run by Dave Harris, Roy Roberts, and John Sullivan. Hammer's increased involvement, his strong personality, and his ability to raise money for oil drilling propelled him more and more into the limelight. By July 1957 Hammer had become company president. Hammer's influence played a key role in the development of Occidental. As Steve Weinberg wrote in Armand Hammer: The Untold Story, "Few Fortune 500 corporations have come so totally under the sway of one person, especially one who owned such a tiny percentage of stock." From his earliest days as president of Occidental, one of Hammer's overriding drives was for Oxy to diversify. In his autobiography, Hammer reported that a prime rationale for diversifying was to make Oxy too big for the other major oil companies to take over. Acquisitions included energy and chemical companies, as well as meat-producing operations. At the time Hammer became involved with Occidental, the company was listed on very small stock exchanges on the West Coast; within several years, however, Oxy was on the American Stock E