Occidental Petroleum's employee shuttle returns from Permian Basin to Houston

Occidental Petroleum flew from Tres Amigos Airport (73XA) in the Permian Basin to Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport late Tuesday evening, landing just after midnight. The 1-hour 18-minute flight aboard the company's Embraer ERJ-175, tail number N170XY, is a familiar route for the shuttle service that rotates employees between the corporate headquarters and active drilling sites.

This flight, arriving early Wednesday, comes as Occidental Petroleum continues its aggressive development of Permian Basin assets. The company's enormous production footprint relies on a small fleet of dedicated aircraft to move personnel efficiently across the vast Texas landscape. The ERJ-175, typically used for employee transport, affords the flexibility to reach remote airstrips that commercial airlines do not serve.

The pattern of recent flights—multiple shuttles between Houston and airstrips near Midland and Carlsbad—confirms that this movement is part of a steady rhythm of crew rotation. For Occidental Petroleum, the aircraft is not a luxury but a tool of necessity, helping maintain one of the largest independent oil and gas operations in the United States.