Dr Ray Irani, chairman and CEO of the US-based Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Oxy) identified the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as a key growth area for the company.
Speaking at the annual stockholders meeting in Santa Monica, California, Dr Irani announced that the Middle East now accounted for 27% of the company’s business.
“Today we have a focused strategy with 60% of our production coming from the United States, 27% coming from the Middle East and 13% coming from Latin America. This approach has been profitable and rewarding,” he said.
Oxy is involved in several high-profile projects in the MENA region, including an agreement with ADNOC to develop two fields in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, an Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) with Mubadala Development Company to develop four existing gas fields and explore for new discoveries in the Sultanate of Oman and initial work with Bahrain Petroleum Company to further explore three blocks offshore Bahrain.
“We believe Oxy is well positioned to succeed in today’s volatile business environment. As we look to the future, we will build on Oxy’s strengths in order to continue to deliver performance, growth and value,” Dr Irani added.
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“Oxy achieved record earnings of $6.9 billion in 2008, the highest in our 88-year history.”
