Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum is a plain-cut oil and gas producer for investors and energy watchers who care about barrels, acreage and the price cycle. By our assessment, it is good at the upstream part of the business: finding, producing and moving hydrocarbons through a large, established portfolio. The limit is just as plain, because this is still a commodity company and it rises and falls with energy markets more than with brand or consumer loyalty. In practice it is the kind of company whose news is read for reserves, drilling and capital spending, not for anything decorative. It sits in the middle of the US oil patch, well known but not the most glamorous name in the sector. The American registration note fits that identity. It is for people who want a big conventional producer, not a cleaner or simpler energy story.