Occidental posted a loss of $1.3 billion, or $1.41 per share, due partly to recording an $820 million loss related to the sale of some noncore assets in the Permian Basin. Even after adjusting for that asset sale, Occidental still lost $731 million, or $0.78 per share, which missed analysts’ consensus estimate by $0.20 per share.’

Oil and gas pre-tax loss on continuing operations for the fourth quarter was $1.1 billion, compared to a pre-tax loss of $1.1 billion for the third quarter of 2020. The fourth quarter results included a pre-tax loss of $820 million related to the sale of non-core assets in the Permian Basin.

Chemical pre-tax income of $192 million for the fourth quarter exceeded guidance. Compared to prior quarter income of $178 million, the improvement in fourth quarter income resulted primarily from higher vinyl margins, partially offset by lower realized caustic soda prices.

Midstream and marketing pre-tax loss for the fourth quarter was $90 million, compared to a loss of $2.8 billion for the third quarter of 2020. Excluding items affecting comparability, midstream and marketing pre-tax fourth quarter results reflected higher non-cash mark-to-market losses in the marketing business. Excluding WES equity income, midstream and marketing pre-tax loss for the fourth quarter was $234 million.

Vicki Hollub, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented:  “We remain committed to strengthening our balance sheet and transitioned into 2021 with an improved financial position by achieving our 2020 divestiture target, reducing debt and successfully extending debt maturities.

“In the fourth quarter, our businesses again outperformed as our teams continue to leverage our technical expertise to mitigate production decline while relentlessly lowering costs.

”We continue to make progress on our debt structure and have significantly exceeded our cost savings targets while delivering operational excellence across our business.

“These decisive financial and operational actions reflect our leadership as a low-cost operator, positioning us for success when market conditions improve.”