Occidental's Bakken Assets on the Table

Occidental Bakken Acreage
Occidental Bakken Acreage

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) appears to be on the verge of divesting its acreage in the Williston Basin, according to a Bloomberg report, which cited "people with knowledge of the matter."

Currently, OXY has ~500,000 gross acres (~335,000 net) in the Williston Basin, and is working with investment bank Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. to sell the assets.

The company is in the process of restructuring, and could draw as much as $3-billion from the sale of its Williston Basin assets, according to Bloomberg's sources. In October of last year, OXY announced it would pursue "stategic alternatives" for the trade or sale of select midcontinent assets.

In 2012, OXY's net Bakken production was 14 Mboe/d, and in the first half of last year, it was 17 Mboe/d. Proved reserves at the end of 2012 were 87 Mmboe.

OXY has increased its focus on production from fields in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico.