LOS ANGELES, May 21, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) announced today that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has selected Occidental to participate in the significant "Red Sea" Core Venture 2 project, one of three large natural gas and infrastructure projects that are part of the Saudi Arabian Natural Gas Initiative.
The project involves the development of discovered gas, including construction of gas processing plants, in the Midyan and Barqan natural gas fields. Development of these two fields, which are located in the northwest part of the Kingdom, will underpin the construction of new regional electric power and desalination facilities. The project also involves exploration in onshore-offshore Blocks 40 to 49 that extend from north to south along the Red Sea coast. Exploration success in these blocks will lay the foundation for additional investment opportunities in power generation, water desalination and petrochemicals in the western part of the Kingdom.
Dr. Ray R. Irani, Occidental's chairman and chief executive officer, said, "We are very pleased the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has selected Occidental to participate in this important project. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial business partnership with the Kingdom. For Occidental, this project represents a major step in enhancing our long-term strategy to achieve additional growth in the Middle East. This project also supports the Kingdom's initiative to stimulate economic growth and diversification, generate new jobs and provide broad-based social benefits to its citizens."
The formal signing of the "Memorandum of Understanding" is expected to take place in the Kingdom in the next few weeks, with definitive agreements expected to follow by year-end.
Note: This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which reflect management's expectations and are based upon data available at the time the statements were made. Actual results are subject to future events and uncertainties, which could materially impact performance.