Lawsuits, Claims, Commitments and Other Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Lawsuits, Claims, Commitments and Other Contingencies

Lawsuits, Claims, Commitments and Other Contingencies

7.             Lawsuits, Claims, Commitments and Other Contingencies

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 or other losses, punitive damages, civil penalties, 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 or such subsidiaries are usually among many companies in these proceedings and have to date been successful in sharing response costs with other financially sound companies.   Occidental accrues reserves for currently outstanding lawsuits, claims and proceedings when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the liability can be reasonably estimated.  Occidental has disclosed its reserve balance for environmental matters.  Reserve balances for other matters as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 were not material to Occidental’s consolidated balance sheets.  Occidental also evaluates the amount of reasonably possible losses that it could incur as a result of the matters mentioned above.  Occidental has disclosed its range of reasonably possible additional losses for sites where it is a participant in environmental remediation.  Occidental believes that other reasonably possible 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 2009 have concluded for United States federal income tax purposes, subsequent taxable years, including the current year, are under review by the United States 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.

OPC, its subsidiaries or both have 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 March 31, 2012, 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.