From OGI Editor-In-Chief: Hollub’s Opus

Out of Occidental’s sudden saga to wrest Anadarko out of Chevron’s grasp, why was CEO Vicki Hollub so darned determined to win?

From OGI Editor-In-Chief: Hollub’s Opus

Anadarko Petroleum is Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub’s opus, writes Steve Toon, editor-in-chief of Oil and Gas Investor, in his monthly column. (Source: CERAWeek by IHS Markit/Shutterstock.com)

While we wait through the due diligence period for the trophy to be hoisted, the battle for Anadarko Petroleum Corp. is now over and Occidental Petroleum Corp. is the winner, having bested Goliath Chevron Corp. The four-week saga was epic in the strategic maneuvers Occidental’s CEO, Vicki Hollub, orchestrated to outplay and sequester its much larger rival into standing down.

But to what end? Occidental, after all, is already a premier producer.

When Chevron announced April 12 that it intended to buy Anadarko Petroleum Corp. for $33 billion, the oil and gas world buzzed about the first megadeal in years and the beauties of the strategic portfolio fit. Twelve days later, Occidental revealed it had been wooing Anadarko for almost two years prior, and refused to stand down with a $38 billion very public counteroffer, half cash, half stock.

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