INCORRECT: Original "RUMOR" Incorrect -- No Indication That OXY USA Selling Some Assets In North Dakota? June, 2014

Updates

June 30, 2014: Disregard all information in original post suggesting that OXY USA might be selling some of their North Dakota assets. The reader who originally sent me that information says he called the private buyer but was told they were buying assets in a basin other than the Williston Basin. 

Original Post

I never know how best to handle some information that is sent to me. A reader sent me a note last night saying that a mineral owner received a royalty check this month suggesting that OXY USA was selling some of its North Dakota assets. The buyer mentioned is a private firm that specializes in direct investments in oil and gas assets. According to their map of operations, their assets are located only in the United States and currently show no assets in the Bakken.

For now,  I will leave it at that. A couple of years ago, OXY USA corporate presentations suggested that OXY USA was looking to divest its Bakken assets, but then nothing ever came of it. Maybe, finally, some movement.

In OXY USA's two most recent presentations, May 21, 2014, and May 30, 2014, the Bakken is barely mentioned. It's pretty much all about California and the Permian.

Some data points from the recent presentations --

CAPEX, 2013

• Permian: 20%
• California: 17%
• Willisont: 6%

CAPEX, 2014e

• Permian: 22%
• California: 18%
• Williston: 5%

Stand-alone slides: Permian, California, Mideast-North Africa (MENA)

• Even on the one slide that mentions "other" assets, the Bakken is not mentioned, though the state of North Dakota is identified as one of several states where OXY has assets

There is nothing in either presentation that suggests OXY spends much time thinking about the Bakken.

In fact, looking at the presentation, OXY USA could easily change its name to OXY PERMIAN; it seems the "new" OXY is going to be all about the Permian.

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5% CAPEX

After posting the above, and then receiving a couple of comments, and then recalling the two OXY USA presentations, this is the big takeaway: in 2013, OXY USA CAPEX in the Bakken represented 6% of the company's total CAPEX; in 2014, it will decrease slightly to 5%. That data point (those two data points) speaks volumes.