Occidental announced the start-up of the company’s first solar facility to directly power an enhanced oil recovery field operation in the Permian Basin. The company, through its Oxy Low Carbon Ventures (OLCV) subsidiary, also announced that it has signed a long-term power purchase agreement for 109 MW of solar energy, beginning in 2021, for use in its Permian operations.

"Occidental is taking an important step toward realizing our aspiration to become carbon neutral through the use of emissions-free solar electricity," President and CEO Vicki Hollub said. "Using solar energy in our operations is another way Oxy Low Carbon Ventures is enhancing the profitability and sustainability of our business while meeting the challenge of reducing atmospheric greenhouse gases."

The Goldsmith field solar facility, built by Occidental in Ector County near Odessa, Texas, expands on the company’s commitment to economically lower its carbon footprint by using emissions-free power sources in operations. The 120-acre field is the first large-scale solar facility of its kind to directly power oil and gas operations in Texas and features 174,000 photovoltaic panels with a total capacity of 16 MW — enough to power the operations at the Goldsmith field. First Solar manufactured the photovoltaic panels and is under contract with OLCV to operate the facility.

OLCV also recently signed a 12-year solar power purchase agreement with a joint venture between Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) and Core Solar LLC, whose solar project in West Texas will be operational in 2021. GIG is a specialist in green infrastructure principal investment, project delivery and the management of portfolio assets and related services and Core Solar is a developer of utility scale solar plants.

"As the top producer in the Permian, we are focusing many of our low-carbon investments and projects in the region with the goal of becoming the leader in producing lower-carbon energy," OLCV President Richard Jackson said. "The solar facility and long-term solar power agreement further enable us to realize cost efficiencies and reduce the carbon intensity of our operations through the use of lower-carbon electricity, which together are ultimately expected to eliminate more than 160,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year."

About Occidental

Occidental (NYSE: OXY) is an international oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, Middle East and Latin America. Headquartered in Houston, Occidental is one of the largest U.S. oil and gas companies, based on equity market capitalization. Occidental’s midstream and marketing segment purchases, markets, gathers, processes, transports and stores hydrocarbons and other commodities. The company’s wholly owned subsidiary OxyChem manufactures and markets basic chemicals and vinyls. Occidental posts or provides links to important information on its website at oxy.com.

About Oxy Low Carbon Ventures

Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, LLC (OLCV) is a subsidiary of Occidental, an international oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, Middle East and Latin America. Occidental’s global strategy includes active investment in carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), as well as other emissions reducing technologies. OLCV capitalizes on Occidental’s EOR leadership by developing CCUS projects that source anthropogenic CO2 and promote innovative technologies that drive cost efficiencies and economically grow Occidental's businesses while reducing emissions.