Fair Value Measurements (Policies)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value policy

Occidental has categorized its assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value, based on the priority of the inputs to the valuation techniques, in a three-level fair value hierarchy: Level 1 — using quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities; Level 2 — using observable inputs other than quoted prices; and Level 3 — using unobservable inputs.  Transfers between levels, if any, are recognized at the end of each reporting period.

Fair Values — Recurring

Occidental primarily applies the market approach for recurring fair value measurements, maximizes its use of observable inputs and minimizes its use of unobservable inputs. Occidental utilizes the mid-point price between bid and ask prices for valuing the majority of its assets and liabilities measured and reported at fair value. In addition to using market data, Occidental makes assumptions in valuing its assets and liabilities, including assumptions about the risks inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique.  For assets and liabilities carried at fair value, Occidental measures fair value using the following methods:

Trading securities — Quoted prices in active markets exist and are used to provide fair values for these instruments. These securities are classified as Level 1.

Commodity derivatives — Occidental values exchange-cleared commodity derivatives using closing prices provided by the exchange as of the balance sheet date.  These derivatives are classified as Level 1. Over-the-Counter (OTC) financial commodity contracts, options and physical commodity forward purchase and sale contracts are generally valued using quotations provided by brokers or industry-standard models that consider various inputs, including quoted forward prices for commodities, time value, volatility factors, credit risk and current market and contractual prices for the underlying instruments, as well as other relevant economic measures.  Substantially all of these inputs are observable in the marketplace throughout the full term of the instrument, can be derived from observable data or are supported by observable prices at which transactions are executed in the marketplace. Occidental classifies these measurements as Level 2.

Occidental generally uses an income approach to measure fair value when there is not a market-observable price for an identical or similar asset or liability.  This approach utilizes management’s assumptions regarding expectations of projected cash flows, and discounts the expected cash flows using a commensurate risk-adjusted discount rate.