Occidental Holders Upbeat Despite Suit

Despite pickets and protests over alleged human rights abuses, Occidental Petroleum Corp. faced a roomful of satisfied shareholders Friday at its annual meeting in Century City.

Occidental, the nation’s sixth-largest oil and natural gas producer, finished 2002 with lower sales and net income. But its shareholders gained an 11% return in a year when the S&P; 500 stock index and the Dow Jones industrial average produced negative returns.

Chairman and Chief Executive Ray Irani gave a matter-of-fact slide show review of the Los Angeles firm’s operations in the United States, Middle East and Latin America -- areas Irani expects to fuel an average annual growth in production of at least 5% through 2006.

That forecast, he noted, “should give shareholders confidence in the company’s future, which has never been brighter.”

Not all shareholders are happy, however. John Chevedden wanted to discuss the qualifications of the nominated board members and the selection of auditor KPMG before the votes were taken, but when he spoke up, he got a quick retort from Irani.

“Nobody asked you to speak. Please sit down,” Irani told him.

Later, Colombian native Luis Alberto Galvis Mujica and several Amazon Watch representatives spoke of alleged human rights abuses in countries where Occidental operates, and accused the company of complicity in a 1988 bombing that killed members of Mujica’s family.

Earlier in the day, the group protested outside the Century City hotel where the meeting took place.

In response to a suit filed by Mujica on Thursday, Occidental said any suggestion that it was responsible for the tragedy in Colombia “is completely false.”

Two shareholder proposals were handily defeated at the meeting, including a stockholder rights plan and a proposal that would prevent the company from instituting “poison pill” measures -- steps taken to avert a takeover -- without shareholder approval.

Occidental shares fell 2 cents to $30.22 on the New York Stock Exchange.