Oxy, EOG Resources Swap Oil, Gas Properties

Occidental Petroleum Corp. and EOG Resources Inc. said they exchanged oil and natural-gas fields in the U.S. to cut costs and boost production. Los Angeles-based Occidental, the ninth-biggest U.S. oil company, received fields in California that produce about 12 million cubic feet of gas a day, and mineral rights to more than 700,000 acres of land in the state. It also got properties in the western Gulf of Mexico that produce 26 million cubic feet of gas equivalent a day. EOG received properties in eastern Texas that are next to fields it owns.. Occidental had about $6.6 billion in 1998 sales. Houston-based EOG, formerly Enron Oil & Gas Co., had about $751 million in 1998 sales. In New York Stock Exchange trading, Occidental shares fell 81 cents to close at $20.81, while EOG fell $2.06 to close at $15.50.