LOS ANGELES, Oct. 13, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a quarterly dividend of $.36 per share of common stock for an annual rate of $1.44 per share, compared to the previous annual rate of $1.24. The dividend will be payable on January 15, 2006 to stockholders of record on December 9, 2005. Occidental has paid cash dividends continuously since 1975.
"This is the fourth increase in the dividend since 2002," said Dr. Ray R. Irani, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, "and is in keeping with the Board's pledge to evaluate our dividend policy annually as part of our commitment to enhance total returns to our stockholders. With this latest increase, our dividend rate is 44 percent higher than in 2002, and reflects the company's growing financial strength and strong operational performance."
Statements in this release that contain words such as "will," "expect" or "estimate," or otherwise relate to the future, are forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect expected results. Factors that could cause results to differ materially include, but are not limited to: exploration risks such as drilling of unsuccessful wells, global commodity pricing fluctuations and supply/demand considerations for oil, gas and chemicals; higher-than-expected costs; political risk; and not successfully completing (or any material delay in) any expansion, capital expenditure, acquisition, or disposition. Occidental disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.