Vicki Hollub, President of Oxy Oil and Gas and EVP of Occidental Petroleum stated that the energy giant is not planning to divest its assets in the Sultanate of Oman, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, according to media reports.

The US based petroleum company has a significant portfolio of hydrocarbon assets in Oman and it is the largest independent oil producer in the Sultanate. Occidental has been producing oil in Oman for over 30 years.

Occidental’s Oman operations are concentrated at the Mukhaizna Field in south-central Oman, the Safah and Wadi Latham fields, and Block 62 in northern Oman. Occidental also has operations in the Safah field in northern Oman, and has increased production through a combination of development wells, waterflooding and successful exploration.

The Occidental chief put to rest media references regarding the company selling their working interests in the three Middle East countries. She is reported to have reiterated that these countries provide cash flows and continuation of operations are an integral part of the business and future plan of Occidental.

“(However) we are exiting or attempting to exit from Iraq, Libya and Yemen. We have gone through a process established with the government for an exit process in Iraq, which is in process now. In Yemen, some contracts are expiring. And we expect to be able to exit by the end of the year from Yemen. And in Libya, we have ceased our capital investments. Now we are maintaining operations as we go through a process of establishing an exit strategy for Libya. In the Middle East, our core areas are Oman, Abu Dhabi and Qatar,” Hollub has been quoted by reports.

She also stated that Occidental in coordination with its partner Oman Oil Company and the Ministry of Oil and Gas, is working on ways to do things more efficiently and differently to bring down costs at a time oil prices have touched a 12-year low. “In Oman, we have a variety of potential projects to do. We will be continuing our activity levels one sort or another,” she explained.

On low oil prices and impact on the company, she said they are in a much better position when compared to many other oil companies because of its diversified business including chemicals and the gas projects in the UAE, “We have a strong balance sheet. We ended last year with a significant amount of cash and very low debt. Our debt-cash ratio is only 22 per cent, which is much lower than lot of other companies.”

“We have a portfolio of projects and types of oil and gas assets that enable us to go down to very low oil price to continue operations. We wouldn’t consider this price scenario to cut back on production. We have lot of different opportunities for development,” she added.

Hollub maintains that the low oil price environment had been a wake up call for the industry, “We as an industry got used to high prices and a lot of inefficiency had crept into our business. So I think now it is the time to sit back and take a look at where we are and what we need to do to get our business back to a point where we can be successful in a low oil price environment.”

The company is undertaking cost cutting measures as oil prices plummet to record low levels. “We as a company striving to do all we can to significantly lower our cost structure. In all the areas we operate, we are reducing our costs to bare minimum as we can and be efficient,” she added.

When asked about the impact of declining oil prices on the position of the workers in Oman, she said, “At this point, we do not expect a significant impact on our employees. In the United States, we have re-deployed engineers and scientists to the fields in place of contractors’ (employees), which give them a broader experience and improve activities because of the fact that these employees are more committed to add value for the company.” Our people resources are important to us. So, over the course of time, what we are doing is developing our employees, enabling them to do a variety of jobs.”