Occidental Petroleum SWOT Analysis, Competitors & USP

Occidental Petroleum

Oil and Gas

Energy & Power

Committed to being the employer, partner and neighbor of choice

Industry leader in applying advanced technology to boost production and access hard-to-recover reserves

Markets in North America and select international markets

Entities which require oil, condensate, natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), carbon dioxide (CO₂) and power

Occidental Petroleum is committed to respecting the environment, protecting safety and upholding high standards of social responsibility throughout its worldwide operations

Below are the Strengths in the SWOT Analysis of Occidental Petroleum:

1. Strong market position locally (fourth largest in the US, largest in the Permian Basin in Texas, in New Mexico and in California) and internationally (in Latin America, Oman, offshore Qatar, and the largest exploration acreage holder in Libya)
2. Stable revenue growth due to steady increase in Oil & gas reserves in its national and international assets and occupation of newer assets
3. Strong operational efficiency and performance led by superior infrastructure, technology driven methods of drilling and cost cutting techniques leading to increase in profits
4. Strong performance by its subsidiaries like Oxychem in petrochemicals (caustic soda, caustic potash, calcium chloride and sodium chlorite esp.) helps drive the top line growth of the company
5. Its strong geographically diverse presence esp. in Latin America, Middle East (presence in 9 big oil resource rich nations with an employee base of nearly 12,000)

Here are the weaknesses in the Occidental Petroleum SWOT Analysis:

1. Lack of scale to compete with large players in the market due to their much larger size, asset base and operations
2.Over dependence/concentration on the US market alone in spite of its international presence exposes it more to risks local to the US, thereby leading to loss of accruable revenue from the other nations
3. Its declining operational efficiency has led to its limited liquidity which might be troubling for investors looking forward to doing business

Following are the Opportunities in Occidental Petroleum SWOT Analysis:

1. Expansion of operations in the middle east (Bahrain, Libya, Iraq, Oman, Yemen, UAE, Qatar) etc. by the company to leverage its operations and position internationally
2. Increase in natural gas demand in the US Market both in the fast and according to forecasted data can help the company to drive top-line growth and strengthen the revenue contribution from the US market.
3. Strategic initiatives as the Al Hosn gas project at Abu Dhabi (to develop one of the largest natural fields in the Middle East) and a new Membrane Cell Chlor-Alkali plant in Tennessee will help it diversify its portfolio further and bring in higher revenues

The threats in the SWOT Analysis of Occidental Petroleum are as mentioned:

1.Exploration Risks common to drilling and other exploratory activities can make the company incur significant losses
2.Governmental actions and Political instability (in countries of its foreign operations) can create adverse impact on the company’s operations in those countries
3.Stringent environmental compliance and regulations (as The Solid Waste Disposal Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), The Clean Water Act of 1972, Federal Oil Pollution Act of 1990, The Clean Air Act of 1970, and The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976) can increases the company’s operating cost and could adversely affect its profitability.

Below are the top 3 competitors of Occidental Petroleum:

1.BG Group PLC
2.ConocoPhillips
3.Continental Resources Inc.