Occidental Petroleum returns to Houston ahead of CEO succession and Gulf crisis talks

Occidental Petroleum flew from Phoenix to Houston on May 21, landing at Bush Intercontinental shortly before 7 a.m. local time. The Gulfstream G280, tail N280XY, made the two-hour hop after a brief stay in Arizona, returning to the company’s headquarters city.

The same week the flight touched down, Occidental Petroleum faces a leadership transition: Vicki Hollub retires as president and CEO effective June 1, with Richard A. Jackson taking over, per a May 1 SEC filing. The trip also comes as Occidental Petroleum grapples with the fallout from a drone strike that shut down the Shah gas project in the UAE, in which it holds a 40 percent stake, as reported by the Houston Business Journal in March.

Occidental Petroleum’s Houston-based Gulfstream fleet logs frequent trips to Permian Basin sites and Washington, but this week’s Phoenix leg and quick return suggest a short executive stopover ahead of a consequential boardroom calendar. The company’s largest shareholder, Berkshire Hathaway, now holds roughly 28 percent of Occidental Petroleum, per Fox Business, keeping Houston’s corner office in perpetual motion.