From Bloomberg opinion columnist Liam Deming covering energy

Over the past six years, Occidental Petroleum Corp. has morphed from being a large oil company with a reputation for discipline to an even larger oil company well on its way to becoming a business school case study in the perils of hubris. If Chief Executive Officer Vicki Hollub has been the architect of this transformation, Warren Buffett has been the key enabler. Remarkably, Oxy’s adjusted net income this year is forecast to be lower than in 2018, the year before it bought Anadarko.

it shouldn’t obscure that this is an exercise in repairing damage. Oxy’s acquisitions were supposed to propel it into the big leagues. But the point of getting bigger is to give yourself autonomy, the freedom to deploy capital efficiently and opportunistically. That can hardly be said of selling off your chemicals business in a year when its profit is expected to be the lowest in five years and bellwether rival Dow Inc.’s stock is down 39%. The fact that Berkshire is swooping in says it all, along with the added twist that Buffett helped Oxy dig its own hole.

bloomberg.com - Buffett and berkshire hathaway got a win with occidental chemicals deal (Subscription Required)