HOUSTON, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Occidental Petroleum Corp., one of the largest oil and gas producers in the country, said it was spinning off its California business into a separate entity.
The company known commonly by its stock symbol, Oxy, said the board of directors created a separate company, California Resources Corp.
"California Resources will be an independent, publicly traded company, and Occidental will retain approximately 19.9 percent ownership interest in California Resources for a period of up to 18 months," the parent company said in a Thursday announcement.
When announcing quarterly results, President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Chazen said oil production was strong, with increases coming from the Permian shale basin in western Texas and from California assets for the fourth straight quarter.
Oxy is the largest oil and natural gas producer in California. Its flagship Elk Hill field produced more than 515 million barrels of oil equivalent since it was acquired in 1988.
California Resources will be traded under the ticker symbol CRC.
