I set aside other planned work and chores this morning to first listen to the Oxy interview. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Vickie did a nice job of explaining the shale/fracking process in layman's language. But the more enjoyable part was learning of her background, her oil-patch experiences, and her current high level thinking about where she's trying to take OXY going forward. She does an excellent job of marketing herself and OXY.

Of particular interest to me was her statement that they expect to use CO2 EOR to double ultimate oil recovery from the Permian shale. Every company is working on this with the same goal. Exxon has announced that it is testing some 40 different technology approaches to accomplish this. Vickie also dropped some interesting comments on OXY's operating costs and break-even oil prices.

I think she has a tough challenge going forward because of OXY's heavy debt load. Her major competitors have much stronger balance sheets, much larger technology organizations, larger scale, and a broader asset base. But she does have a good basic position in the Permian, is focusing on what strengths she does have, and seems a strong leader. The biggest threat would be some extended period of low oil prices.

Worth the hour to listen if you wish to better understand BRK's OXY investment.