Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) shares are trading higher Thursday after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday after the market closed. The stock is also gaining as oil stocks move higher with crude prices remaining elevated amid escalating geopolitical tensions involving Iran and following reports that Kinetik Holdings (NYSE:KNTK) is weighing a potential sale after receiving takeover interest from Occidental-backed Western Midstream Partners.
- Occidental stock is among today’s top performers. Why are OXY shares rallying?
Earnings Beat And Operational Strength
Occidental reported adjusted earnings per share of 31 cents, beating the consensus estimate of 18 cents.
Total company production came in at 1,481 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, exceeding the high end of guidance. Midstream and marketing pre-tax adjusted income also exceeded the high end of guidance.
Occidental strengthened its balance sheet with the completion of the OxyChem sale on Jan. 2, 2026, reducing debt by $5.8 billion since mid-December 2025 and bringing principal debt to date to $15 billion.
At year-end, worldwide proved reserves totaled 4.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The company reported an all-in reserves replacement ratio of 98% and an organic reserves replacement ratio of 107%.
Oil Stocks Rise On Geopolitical Tension
Oil stocks moved higher as crude prices remained elevated Thursday following comments from Vice President J.D. Vance that Iran had not addressed core U.S. demands in recent nuclear talks and President Donald Trump reserved the right to use military force if diplomacy fails.
According to CNBC, Vance’s remarks followed talks in Geneva between U.S. envoys and Iranian officials, which Iranian media described as “constructive.” However, the vice president said it was clear that the president had set red lines that Iran was not yet willing to acknowledge and work through.
Vance said Trump reserves the right to use force if negotiations do not succeed in stopping Iran’s nuclear program and noted the U.S. has a “very powerful military.”
Sources told Axios that a U.S. military campaign against Iran would likely be massive, last weeks and resemble a full-fledged war.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard conducted war games this week in the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade route for global oil flows. Iranian state media said traffic in part of the strait was closed Tuesday due to the military exercises, raising concerns about potential supply disruptions.
Trump has stationed the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Middle East, and the USS Gerald Ford is en route to the region. The president said he deployed the second carrier in case negotiations fail.
Kinetik Weighs Sale After Western Midstream Approach
According to the Financial Times, Kinetik is considering a potential sale after receiving takeover interest from Occidental-backed Western Midstream, according to people familiar with the matter.
The $7.2 billion midstream company operates roughly 4,600 miles of pipeline across the Delaware portion of the Permian Basin in western Texas and New Mexico. Kinetik began exploring a sale process in recent weeks after Western Midstream made an approach, though discussions remain at an early stage and no formal bid has been made.
Occidental owns about one-third of Western Midstream as a legacy of its 2019 acquisition of Anadarko.
Shares of Kinetik have risen 22% since the start of the year as of Wednesday’s close and jumped 11.1% in after-hours trading Wednesday following reports of the approach.
Occidental Stock Climbs Higher
OXY Price Action: At the time of writing, Occidental shares are trading 5.31% higher at $49.61, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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