Occidental Sets Aggressive Earnings Goal

Occidental Petroleum Corp. expects to boost oil production by 38% over the next two years as it pursues a goal of raising earnings to $3 a share, its president said. The Los Angeles-based oil company will dramatically increase production at the former Navy oil reserve in Elk Hills, which it bought from the government for $3.5 billion, and has promising projects elsewhere, Occidental President Dale Laurance said. Occidental has completed a painful restructuring that included $607 million in charges to write down assets and buy out long-term contracts with Laurance and Chairman Ray Irani, replacing them with shorter-term agreements linking their pay more closely to company performance. Occidental’s ultimate target, Laurance said, is to raise the return from its exploration-production business to 12% from 8.9% last year. That would boost earnings to more than $2.1 billion, or $3 a share. Occidental last year reported a loss of $390 million, or $1.43 a share, on revenue of $8 billion. Oxy shares fell 13 cents to close at $29.19 on the NYSE.