Occidental
Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: OXY) today announced the appointment of
Marshall D. (Mark) Smith as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer for its subsidiary, California Resources Corporation.
Following its separation from Occidental, California Resources
Corporation will be an independent oil and natural gas exploration and
production company focused on high-growth, high-return conventional and
unconventional assets exclusively in California.
Mr. Smith was most recently Senior Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer at Ultra Petroleum, an independent energy company engaged in
domestic natural gas and crude oil exploration, development and
production. Mr. Smith’s 32 years of experience in the energy industry
spans operations, strategic planning, corporate finance and business
development. He began his career as a petroleum engineer working at both
major and independent oil companies, later focusing on mergers,
acquisitions and corporate finance advisory assignments. Mr. Smith
served as Vice President of Upstream Business Development at
Constellation Energy from 2004 to 2005. He was Vice President of
Business Development at J.M. Huber Energy from 2002 to 2004, and Chief
Financial Officer of Gulf Liquids, Inc., from 2001 to 2002. Mr. Smith
holds a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Oklahoma,
and an MBA from Oklahoma City University.
“I’m pleased to add Mark to the California Resources executive
management team,” said Todd A. Stevens, President and Chief Executive
Officer of California Resources Corporation. “His background in
corporate finance combined with expertise in petroleum engineering and
deep understanding of operating independent oil and gas companies will
be a tremendous asset to the company.”
The spin-off of California Resources Corporation from Occidental is
subject to market conditions, customary regulatory approvals, receipt of
an affirmative IRS ruling, execution of separation and intercompany
agreements, acceptance of the new company’s stock for listing and final
approval by the board of directors.
About Occidental Petroleum
Occidental
Petroleum Corporation is an international oil and gas exploration
and production company with operations in the United States, Middle
East/North Africa and Latin America regions. Occidental is one of the
largest U.S. oil and gas companies, based on equity market
capitalization. Occidental’s wholly owned subsidiary OxyChem
manufactures and markets chlor-alkali products and vinyls. Occidental is
committed to safeguarding the environment, protecting the safety and
health of employees and neighboring communities and upholding high
standards of social responsibility in all of the company's worldwide
operations.
Forward-Looking Statement
Portions of this press release contain forward-looking statements and
involve risks and uncertainties that could materially affect expected
results of operations, liquidity, cash flows and business prospects.
Actual results may differ from anticipated results sometimes materially,
and reported results should not be considered an indication of future
performance. Factors that could cause results to differ include, but are
not limited to: delay of, or other negative developments affecting the
spin-off; inability to obtain new financing for CRC; regulatory
approvals or receipt of an affirmative IRS ruling; completion of a
review by the SEC of the Form 10 filed by CRC; execution of separation
and intercompany agreements; approval of the final terms by our board of
directors; inability of the separated businesses to operate
independently; global commodity pricing fluctuations; supply and demand
considerations for Occidental’s products; higher-than-expected costs;
the regulatory approval environment; reorganization or restructuring of
Occidental’s operations; not successfully completing, or any material
delay of, field developments, expansion projects, capital expenditures,
efficiency projects, acquisitions or dispositions; lower-than-expected
production from development projects or acquisitions; exploration risks;
general economic slowdowns domestically or internationally; political
conditions and events; liability under environmental regulations
including remedial actions; litigation; disruption or interruption of
production or manufacturing or facility damage due to accidents,
chemical releases, labor unrest, weather, natural disasters, cyber
attacks or insurgent activity; failure of risk management; changes in
law or regulations; or changes in tax rates. Words such as "estimate",
"project", "predict", "will", "would", "should", "could", "may",
"might", "anticipate", "plan", "intend", "believe", "expect", "aim",
"goal", "target", "objective", "likely" or similar expressions that
convey the prospective nature of events or outcomes generally indicate
forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this
release. Unless legally required, Occidental does not undertake any
obligation to update any forward-looking statements, as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. Material risks that may affect
Occidental’s results of operations and financial position appear in Part
1, Item 1A "Risk Factors" of the 2013 Form 10-K. Occidental posts or
provides links to important information on its website at www.oxy.com.
Copyright Business Wire 2014