COP And OXY

Two different individuals have sent me notes suggesting there is chatter in the ether involving COP and OXY USA.

I track Bakken operators here. 

Flashback -- October 21, 2013: possible sale of Bakken assets -- naturalgasintel.com:

Included for possible sale are some of Oxy's 2.5 million acres in the Williston, Hugoton and Rockies/Piceance basins in the Midcontinent region. According to company documents, a total of 1,429,000 net acres in the Hugoton, 744,000 acres in the Piceance and 333,000 acres in the Williston Basin are included in the strategic review. The potential foreign asset sales would be in the Middle East and North Africa potentially.

Flashback -- October 22, 2013: Why is OXY selling these assets? -- Motley Fool:

As part of the strategy to streamline its business and boost overall profitability the company is also putting up U.S. assets for sale, including acreage in North Dakota's Bakken shale and the Rocky Mountain region. It is divesting a roughly 10% stake in the general partner of Plains All American Pipeline, one of the largest midstream companies in the U.S., for $1.3 billion.

In addition, Occidental CEO Stephen Chazen announced in July a possible spinoff of the company's California business. However, the company made no mention of the details of this proposed separation in its latest announcement, which could make some shareholders anxious as to the Occidental's intentions.

Flashback -- January, 2013: Lynn Helms, Director, NDIC, says Burke County is at the edge of the Bakken; Helms said a major operator in Burke is likely to pull out of the Bakken (in Burke County: OXY USA, Oasis, CLR, Cornerstone). Of the four, Oasis and CLR certainly are not going to leave the Bakken.

OXY USA with about 300,000 acres in the Bakken. OXY currently has 6 active rigs in North Dakota, exactly the number they said they would have in the 2Q13 conference call (at the time, they had 5 rigs and said they would ramp up to 6 rigs but stop there).

COP (BR) with about 600,000 acres in the Bakken.

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