- Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) CEO Stephen Chazen quipped during today's earnings conference call that Chevron (NYSE:CVX) was too poor to buy his company, but the offhand remark may have given a boost to OXY's stock, Reuters reports.
- With oil prices sharply lower and profits slipping, an M&A wave could be ahead, and when Chazen was asked if OXY was for sale, the CEO casually mentioned that he had "looked at Chevron and they don't have any free cash."
- An OXY spokesperson said the comments were in jest, but OXY shares, which had been falling, reversed course and finished up 2.3%, well ahead of most energy stocks.
- The remarks more likely were the result of a history of strained relations between the companies, and most energy stocks climbed off early lows as crude oil prices recovered.
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Earlier: Occidental Petro racks up big writedowns on lower oil prices