Occidental Petroleum sees flat 2026 production, lower spending

Investing.com -- Oil and gas producer Occidental Petroleum announced on Tuesday it expects flat production growth in 2026 and reduced capital spending as crude prices decline.

The company projects 2026 production to range from flat to 2% growth, primarily driven by its unconventional Permian Basin operations, according to Chief Financial Officer Sunil Mathew during a conference call. This announcement came a day after Occidental reported better-than-expected third-quarter profits due to higher output.

For 2026, Occidental forecasts capital expenditure between $6.3 billion and $6.7 billion, lower than its 2025 projection of $7.1 billion to $7.3 billion.

The company plans to invest up to $400 million in U.S. onshore operations in 2026, mainly in the Permian Basin and Rockies region. Mathew noted that allocating more capital to these projects would provide greater flexibility if economic conditions deteriorate.

Occidental also intends to increase investment in the Gulf of Mexico and Oman by $250 million while reducing funding for its low-carbon portfolio.

Mathew emphasized that Occidental remains focused on reducing its debt, which accumulated following major acquisitions of Anadarko Petroleum and CrownRock, while enhancing shareholder returns.

"We will be opportunistic with the share repurchase program... we plan to resume the redemption of the preferred (shares) in August 2029," Mathew said.

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