According to Oxy’s CEO, Steve Chazen, the firm will “have some clarity as to the proceeds [of the divestment] by the end of the year.” He expects the deal to be completed in 1Q14.

While fielding questions during firm’s 3Q13 analyst call, Mr Chazen said that Oxy is not sending a specific percentage of its Middle East assets to the chopping block; rather, the firm is “focused on how much money [it] can bring back in an efficient manner.” Mr Chazen continued: “So there’s some amount of money, which is a sizable number, that we can bring back…The Middle East business generates a sizable amount of foreign tax credits. And so we have a pile of those that we can use. It would continue to generate foreign tax credits to shove through the income going forward. And so if you exceed what you have, you pay taxes, US taxes on money that you would otherwise not pay taxes on.” (CONTINUED - 1417 WORDS)