Occidental Petroleum Corp said it would spin off its oil and gas assets in California into a separately traded company, creating the state's largest natural gas producer.Occidental did not provide a valuation for the business, but analysts at investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co said it could be worth up to $19 billion. Analysts at Credit Suisse valued the unit at about $22 billion in October.Occidental, whose shares were up 4 percent in early trading on Friday, said the California unit generated a pre-tax profit of about $1.5 billion in 2013.The California unit has long been seen as a drag on the company because of its limited oil production.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Occidental) conducts its operations through various subsidiaries and affiliates. Shares of OXY traded higher by 2.93% or $2.7071/share to $94.98. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $77.21 and as high as $99.42. On average, 3844620 shares of OXY exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3331582.
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