Occidental Petroleum SWOT Analysis, Competitors & USP

Occidental Petroleum SWOT analysis evaluates the brand by its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats. In SWOT Analysis of Occidental Petroleum, the strengths and weaknesses are the internal factors whereas opportunities and threats are the external factors.

SWOT Analysis is a proven management framework which enables a brand like Occidental Petroleum to benchmark its business & performance as compared to the competitors, and make strategic improvements. Occidental Petroleum is one of the leading brands in the energy & power sector.

The article below lists the Occidental Petroleum SWOT, competitors and includes its target market, segmentation, positioning & USP. Let us start the Occidental Petroleum SWOT Analysis:

SWOT Analysis of Occidental Petroleum

For Occidental Petroleum, SWOT analysis can help the brand focus on building upon its strengths and opportunities while addressing its weaknesses as well as threats to improve its market position.

Occidental Petroleum Strengths

The strengths of Occidental Petroleum looks at the key aspects of its business which gives it competitive advantage in the market. Some important factors in a brand's strengths include its financial position, experienced workforce, product uniqueness & intangible assets like brand value. 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)

Occidental Petroleum Weaknesses

The weaknesses of a brand are certain aspects of its business which are it can improve to increase its position further. Certain weaknesses can be defined as attributes which the company is lacking or in which the competitors are better. 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

Occidental Petroleum Opportunities

The opportunities for any brand can include areas of improvement to increase its business. A brand's opportunities can lie in geographic expansion, product improvements, better communication etc. 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

Occidental Petroleum Threats

The threats for any business can be factors which can negatively impact its business. Some factors like increased competitor activity, changing government policies, alternate products or services etc. can be threats. 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.

Occidental Petroleum Competitors

There are several brands in the market which are competing for the same set of customers. Below are the top 3 competitors of Occidental Petroleum:

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

Hence this concludes the Occidental Petroleum SWOT analysis.

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About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Overview
Parent Company	Occidental Petroleum
Category	Oil and Gas
Sector	Energy & Power
Tagline/ Slogan	Committed to being the employer, partner and neighbor of choice
USP	Industry leader in applying advanced technology to boost production and access hard-to-recover reserves
Occidental Petroleum STP
Segmentation	Markets in North America and select international markets
Target Market	Entities which require oil, condensate, natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), carbon dioxide (CO2) and power
Positioning	Occidental Petroleum is committed to respecting the environment, protecting safety and upholding high standards of social responsibility throughout its worldwide operations

This article has been researched & authored by the Content & Research Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.

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