Occidental Petroleum Completes $9.7bn OxyChem Acquisition

On 2 January 2026, Occidental Petroleum announced the completion of its US$9.7 billion acquisition of OxyChem, its chemical subsidiary.

OxyChem is one of North America’s largest producers of chlor-alkali and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), with operations spanning the United States, Canada, and Latin America. In 2024, the company reported earnings of US$1.1 billion and sales totaling US$4.9 billion.

Vicki Hollub, President and Chief Executive Officer of Occidental Petroleum, said the transaction accelerates the company’s strategy to strengthen its balance sheet while sharpening its focus on a transformed, deep, and diversified oil and gas portfolio.

The transaction follows an announcement in October 2025, when Berkshire Hathaway Inc., led by Warren Buffett, revealed its acquisition of OxyChem. The move was widely viewed as an effort to ease Occidental Petroleum’s debt burden while expanding Berkshire Hathaway’s presence in the chemicals sector.

At the time, Occidental Petroleum stated it planned to allocate US$6.5 billion of the transaction proceeds to debt repayment, with the goal of reducing total debt to below US$15 billion. The company carried approximately US$24 billion in debt at the end of 2024 and disclosed plans to divest nearly US$4 billion in assets during the first half of 2025.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the investment holding company of U.S. billionaire Warren E. Buffett, holds a significant stake in Occidental Petroleum. The OxyChem transaction represents Buffett’s second major investment in the chemicals industry, following Berkshire Hathaway’s US$9.7 billion acquisition of specialty chemicals producer Lubrizol in 2011.