Oxy, Shell Agree to Swap Some Holdings

Occidental Petroleum Corp. and companies of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group signed a series of agreements for a cross-border exchange of oil and gas exploration and production portfolios. Under the agreements, Los Angeles-based Occidental will exchange its entities holding oil and gas interests in the Philippines and Malaysia for Shell’s oil and gas holdings in Yemen and Colombia. The exchange is part of Occidental’s strategy--announced in November--to focus its global oil and gas business into fewer but larger operations in the Middle East, Latin America and the U.S. while increasing net production, Chairman and Chief Executive Ray Irani said. Occidental’s net oil production will increase immediately by about 15%, or 46,000 barrels per day, Irani said. Shell will also receive a cash balance, but the amount was unspecified. Oxy shares fell 81 cents to close at $23.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.