Occidental Petroleum shuttles to Midland post-earnings and CEO transition

Occidental Petroleum flew its Embraer ERJ-175 employee shuttle from Carlsbad, New Mexico, to Midland, Texas, on May 7, 2026. The 22-minute jaunt covered just over 200 miles at low altitude, touching down at Midland International Air and Space Port shortly before 9 p.m. local time.

The timing aligns with the oil producer's recent financial disclosures and leadership shift. Occidental Petroleum released first-quarter 2026 results on May 5, followed by a conference call the next day where executives highlighted steady Permian Basin output amid volatile prices, per the company's investor relations update. Days earlier, on May 1, the board announced CEO Vicki Hollub's retirement effective June 1, naming COO Richard Jackson as successor—a move covered by Reuters as marking the end of a decade for one of oil's few female chiefs.

Such Permian shuttles are routine for Occidental Petroleum, whose Houston headquarters dispatches the jet frequently to key sites like Carlsbad and Midland in the basin that drives nearly all its U.S. production. Recent flights on May 6 and 7 mirror this pattern, ferrying staff from Houston to the fields even as Berkshire Hathaway's stake holds firm through the transition.