Occidental Petroleum Corporation says that its Board of Directors has elected Mr. Howard I. Atkins to Occidental's Board, effective immediately. Mr. Atkins, age 59, currently serves as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Wells Fargo & Company, where he is responsible for Wells Fargo's financial management functions, its investment portfolios and its corporate properties functions. A 37-year veteran of the financial services industry, Mr. Atkins previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of New York Life Insurance Company, Chief Financial Officer of Midlantic Corporation and Corporate Treasurer of Chase Manhattan Bank.

The Board also announced that John S. Chalsty and Irvin W. Maloney, both of whom have passed the Board's retirement age of 75, have expressed their intention not to stand for re-election at the 2011 Annual Meeting of Occidental Stockholders.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ray R. Irani and Lead Independent Director Aziz Syriani stated, 'On behalf of the Board of Directors of Occidental Petroleum, we wish to express our sincere thanks to John Chalsty and Irv Maloney for their many extraordinary and valuable contributions. We wish them well in their future endeavors. We also welcome Mr. Atkins to the Board of Directors and look forward to working with him.'

The Board also intends to nominate a new Director candidate for election to the Board prior to the 2011 Annual Meeting.

Tags: Occidental Petroleum Corporation