Santa Monica, Calif. – Executives at independent oil company Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:OXY – news) on Friday touted the company’s best earnings in 19 years, but were interrupted and booed by rowdy protesters decrying its plans to drill in Colombia on land disputed by native Indians.
Some 30 security officers, including several police officers on horseback, guarded the company’s annual shareholder meeting as about 50 protesters banged on drums outside the auditorium and yelled at shareholders: “Divest from Oxy.”
The controversy stems from Occidental’s exploration rights in Colombia, and the U’wa Indian tribe that opposes drilling for “the sacred blood of Mother Earth.”
Occidental Vice President Lawrence Meriage said the proposed drill site had been moved and now lay outside of the U’wa’s territory, and said the company had and would abide by the Colombian government’s decision on the dispute.
Shouts of “people before profits” cast an awkward, dark note on an otherwise upbeat meeting, after stronger oil and chemical prices boosted the company’s earnings from the doldrums of recent years.
“We believe that chemical earnings and cash flow will continue to improve substantially in 2000,” Occidental Chief Executive Ray Irani said. He said oil and gas output would rise 13 percent to 480,000 barrels per day in 2000.
The company said first-quarter earnings were its best in at least 19 years. Occidental had first-quarter net income before special items of $264 million, or 74 cents a share, versus a loss of $68-million, or 17 cents per share, in 1999.
Oxy, as the company is known, has seen share prices recover from a low of slightly more than $15 each in February to close at 21-7/16 on Friday, down 8/16. The share price, however, is at nearly half the highs reached 2-1/2 years ago and 10 years ago.
The company hailed its recent $3.6 billion acquisition of Altura Energy, an oil and gas project on the Texas-New Mexico border, saying it fit the company’s requirement of immediately benefiting earnings and cash flow.
It also touted the recently closed takeover of California’s 30,000 barrel per day THUMS project from Atlantic Richfield Co., which was acquired by BP Amoco Plc. (NYSE:BPA – news) last week.
Occidental has sold off investments in recent years to reduce costs and focus on what it calls its core exploration and production regions – in the United States, the Middle East and Latin America.
Yet the atmosphere on Friday was tense as attendees shouted at Irani, other directors and at each other.
Irani cut short shareholder comments related to the U’wa controversy and limited questions to 2 minutes.
He sued a group of human rights organisations earlier this year for harassment after they picketed and protested at his Bel Air home. Irani also made headlines in 1998, when his compensation of $105 million for that year put him fourth on Forbes list of best-paid executives.
