occidental oil permian-basin buffett carbon-capture lobbying energy
related: Devon Energy Halliburton ExxonMobil Chevron
Who They Are
Occidental Petroleum Corporation ($28 billion revenue, 2024). A major U.S. oil and gas producer focused on the Permian Basin (the most productive oil field in the United States, producing 6+ million barrels per day). Occidental’s political significance increased dramatically after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway acquired a 28%+ stake in the company — making the world’s most famous investor a major stakeholder in fossil fuel production.
Occidental has positioned itself as a “climate-friendly” oil company through its investment in direct air capture (DAC) technology — carbon removal machines that extract CO2 directly from the atmosphere. The company’s 1PointFive subsidiary is building the world’s largest DAC facility in Texas. The climate strategy: frame continued oil production as compatible with climate goals by offsetting emissions through carbon removal — a strategy critics describe as greenwashing that justifies continued extraction.
What They Want
Permian Basin drilling access, favorable federal land leasing terms, carbon capture tax credits (45Q credits, expanded in the IRA), reduced methane regulation, LNG export expansion, and the framing of carbon capture as a climate solution (which justifies continued oil production).
What They’ve Gotten
45Q Carbon Capture Credits: The Inflation Reduction Act expanded 45Q tax credits for carbon capture from $50/ton to $85/ton for industrial capture and $180/ton for direct air capture. Occidental’s 1PointFive DAC project is one of the primary beneficiaries — receiving tens of millions in tax credits for carbon removal while Occidental’s core business produces millions of barrels of oil that generate the emissions the DAC facility is designed to remove.
Contradiction
Occidental invests in direct air capture technology to remove CO2 from the atmosphere while its core business produces 1.2 million barrels of oil per day that emit CO2 into the atmosphere. The DAC investment ($1-2 billion) is a fraction of Occidental’s oil production revenue ($28 billion). The carbon math: Occidental’s oil production generates far more CO2 than its DAC facilities can remove. The climate strategy is not a transition plan — it is a justification for continued extraction, marketed as environmental responsibility.
Sources
- OpenSecrets: Occidental Petroleum lobbying (Tier 1)
- SEC: Occidental 10-K filing (Tier 1)
- IRS: 45Q tax credit data (Tier 1)
- Ballotpedia: Occidental Petroleum (Tier 3)
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