Lawsuits, Claims, Commitments, Contingencies and Related Matters

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

Lawsuits, Claims, Commitments, Contingencies and Related Matters

Lawsuits, Claims, Commitments, Contingencies and Related Matters

8.       Lawsuits, Claims, Commitments, Contingencies and Related Matters

OPC or certain of its subsidiaries are named, in the normal course of business, in lawsuits, claims and other legal proceedings that seek, among other things, compensation for alleged personal injury, breach of contract, property damage, punitive damages, civil penalties or other losses, or injunctive or declaratory relief.  OPC or certain of its subsidiaries also have been named in proceedings under CERCLA and similar federal, state, local and foreign environmental laws.  These environmental proceedings seek funding or performance of remediation and, in some cases, compensation for alleged property damage, punitive damages, civil penalties and injunctive relief; however, Occidental is usually one of many companies in these proceedings and has to date been successful in sharing response costs with other financially sound companies.  The ultimate amount of losses and the timing of any such losses that Occidental may incur resulting from currently outstanding lawsuits, claims and proceedings cannot be determined reliably at this time.  Occidental accrues reserves for all of these matters when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the liability can be reasonably estimated.  Reserve balances as of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010 were not material to Occidental’s consolidated balance sheets.  Occidental also evaluates the amount of reasonably possible additional losses that it could incur as a result of the matters mentioned above.  Occidental has disclosed its range of reasonably possible losses for sites where it is a participant in environmental remediation.  Occidental believes that other reasonably possible additional losses that it could incur in excess of reserves accrued on the balance sheet would not be material to its consolidated financial position or results of operations.

During the course of its operations, Occidental is subject to audit by tax authorities for varying periods in various federal, state, local and foreign tax jurisdictions.  While the audits of corporate tax returns for taxable years through 2008 have concluded for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the 2009 through 2011 taxable years are currently under review by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service pursuant to its Compliance Assurance Program.  Taxable years from 2000 through the current year remain subject to examination by foreign and state government tax authorities in certain jurisdictions.  In certain of these jurisdictions, tax authorities are in various stages of auditing Occidental’s income taxes.  During the course of tax audits, disputes have arisen and other disputes may arise as to facts and matters of law. Occidental believes that the resolution of outstanding tax matters would not have a material adverse effect on its consolidated financial position or results of operations.

Occidental has indemnified various parties against specified liabilities that those parties might incur in the future in connection with purchases and other transactions that they have entered into with Occidental.  These indemnities usually are contingent upon the other party incurring liabilities that reach specified thresholds.  As of June 30, 2011, Occidental is not aware of circumstances that it believes would reasonably be expected to lead to future indemnity claims against it in connection with these transactions that would result in payments materially in excess of reserves.