Occidental (NYSE:OXY) announced on Friday, January 2, 2026, the completion of its $9.7 billion cash sale of OxyChem to Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A).
The transaction, first revealed in October 2025, marks the largest divestment in Occidental’s history and effectively ends the company’s half-century tenure as a major player in global commodity chemicals.
The all-cash deal, which was not subject to financing conditions, provides Occidental with the immediate liquidity needed to achieve its primary financial goal for 2026: reducing its principal debt to below $15 billion.
Management indicated that approximately $6.5 billion of the proceeds would be used for immediate debt repayment, targeting high-interest maturities that have lingered since the company’s $55 billion acquisition of Anadarko in 2019 and the more recent $12 billion purchase of CrownRock.
Under the terms of the closing, an Occidental subsidiary, Environmental Resource Holdings, has retained all of OxyChem’s legacy tort claims and environmental liabilities.
These are primarily related to historical operations at sites that were not part of the active facility sale.
Additionally, Glenn Springs Holdings, a specialized Occidental subsidiary, will continue to manage these remedial activities.
Occidental noted it expects remediation spending to continue for "many years" based on existing regulatory workplans.