ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITIES AND EXPENDITURES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Environmental Remediation Obligations [Abstract]

ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITIES AND EXPENDITURES

NOTE 12 - ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITIES AND EXPENDITURES

Occidental and its subsidiaries and their respective operations are subject to numerous federal, state, local and international laws and regulations related to improving or maintaining environmental quality. The laws that require or address environmental remediation, including CERCLA and similar federal, state, local and international laws, may apply retroactively and regardless of fault, the legality of the original activities or the current ownership or control of sites. Occidental or certain of its subsidiaries participate in or actively monitor a range of remedial activities and government or private proceedings under these laws with respect to alleged past practices at Third-Party, Currently Operated, and Closed or Non-operated Sites, which categories may include NPL Sites. Remedial activities may include one or more of the following: investigation involving sampling, modeling, risk assessment or monitoring; cleanup measures including removal, treatment or disposal; or operation and maintenance of remedial systems. The environmental proceedings seek funding or performance of remediation and, in some cases, compensation for alleged property damage, natural resource damages, punitive damages, civil penalties, injunctive relief and government oversight costs.

ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION

As of December 31, 2024, certain Occidental subsidiaries participated in or monitored remedial activities or proceedings at 158 sites. The following table presents the current and non-current environmental remediation liabilities of such subsidiaries on a consolidated basis as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the current portion of which is included in accrued liabilities ($150 million in 2024 and $132 million in 2023) and the remainder in deferred credits and other liabilities - environmental remediation liabilities ($1.8 billion in 2024 and $0.9 billion in 2023).

These environmental remediation sites are grouped into NPL Sites and the following three categories of non-NPL Sites —Third-Party Sites, Currently Operated Sites and Closed or Non-operated Sites.

	2024			2023
millions, except number of sites	Number of Sites	Remediation Balance		Number of Sites	Remediation Balance
NPL Sites	32	$	1,374	32	$	435
Third-Party Sites	63	200		65	233
Currently Operated Sites	12	88		12	98
Closed or Non-operated Sites	51	247		51	255
Total	158	$	1,909	160	$	1,021

As of December 31, 2024, environmental remediation liabilities of Occidental subsidiaries exceeded $10 million each at 16 of the 158 sites described above, and 88 of the sites had liabilities less than $1 million each.

The DASS in Newark, New Jersey accounted for a significant portion of the liabilities associated with the category of NPL Sites. During 2024, OxyChem increased the environmental remediation liability related to the DASS by $925 million. See Note 13 - Lawsuits, Claims, Commitments and Contingencies under the heading “Diamond Alkali Superfund Site Litigation”.

Five of the 63 Third-Party Sites — a former copper mining and smelting operation in Tennessee, a chrome site in New Jersey, a former oil field and a landfill in California and an active refinery in Louisiana where Occidental reimburses the current owner for certain remediation activities — accounted for approximately two thirds of the liabilities associated with this category.

Three Currently Operated Sites — oil and gas operations in Colorado and chemical plants in Kansas and Louisiana — accounted for approximately two thirds of the liabilities associated with this category.

Seven Closed or Non-operated Sites — a landfill in Western New York, a former refinery in Oklahoma, former chemical plants in California, New York, Michigan, and Washington, and a closed coal mine in Pennsylvania — accounted for approximately two thirds of the liabilities associated with this category.

The consolidated estimate of environmental remediation liabilities in the table above varies over time depending on factors such as acquisitions or divestitures, identification of additional sites, remedy selection and implementation and changes in applicable laws or regulations, among other factors. Excluding the increase related to the DASS, Occidental’s subsidiaries recorded environmental remediation expenses of $76 million, $79 million and $65 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively, on a consolidated basis. Environmental remediation expenses primarily relate to existing conditions from alleged past practices. Based on current estimates, Occidental expects its subsidiaries to expend funds corresponding to approximately 25% of the year-end remediation balance over the next three to four years with the remainder over the subsequent 10 or more years.

Occidental believes its range of reasonably possible additional losses of its subsidiaries beyond those amounts currently recorded for environmental remediation for the 158 environmental sites in the table above could be up to $1.9 billion.

DIAMOND ALKALI SUPERFUND SITE

The EPA has organized the DASS into four OUs for evaluating, selecting and implementing remediation under CERCLA. OxyChem’s current activities in each OU are summarized below, many of which are performed on OxyChem’s behalf by Glenn Springs Holdings, Inc.

OU1 – The Former Diamond Alkali Plant at 80-120 Lister Avenue in Newark: Maxus and its affiliates implemented an interim remedy of OU1 pursuant to a 1990 Consent Decree, for which OxyChem currently performs maintenance and monitoring. In January 2025, the EPA issued a ROD for the final remedy of OU1 that provides for optimized containment for which it estimated a cost of $16 million.

OU2 – The Lower 8.3 Miles of the Lower Passaic River: In March 2016, the EPA issued a ROD specifying remedial actions required for OU2. During the third quarter of 2016, and following Maxus’s bankruptcy filing, OxyChem and the EPA entered into an AOC to complete the design of the remedy selected in the ROD. In May 2024, the EPA approved OxyChem's remedial design for OU2. In June 2024, the EPA notified OxyChem that the work required by the AOC has been fully performed in accordance with its terms. The EPA has estimated the cost to remediate OU2 to be approximately $1.4 billion.

OU3 – Newark Bay Study Area, including Newark Bay and portions of the Hackensack River, Arthur Kill, and Kill van Kull: Maxus and its affiliates initiated a remedial investigation and feasibility study of OU3 pursuant to a 2004 AOC which was amended in 2010. OxyChem is currently performing feasibility study activities in OU3.

OU4 – The 17-mile Lower Passaic River Study Area, comprising OU2 and the Upper 9 Miles of the Lower Passaic River: In September 2021, the EPA issued a ROD selecting an interim remedy for the portion of OU4 that excludes OU2 and is located upstream from the Lister Avenue Plant site for which OxyChem inherited legal responsibility. In March 2023, the EPA issued a Unilateral Administrative Order in which it directed and ordered OxyChem to design the EPA’s selected interim remedy for OU4. The EPA has estimated the cost to remediate OU4 to be approximately $440 million.

Natural Resource Trustees – In addition to the activities of the EPA and OxyChem in the OUs described above, federal and state natural resource trustees are assessing natural resources in the Lower Passaic River and Greater Newark Bay to evaluate potential claims for natural resource damages.

OTHER INFORMATION

For the DASS, OxyChem has accrued a reserve relating to its estimated allocable share of the costs to perform the maintenance and monitoring required in the OU1 Consent Decree, and the remedial investigation and feasibility study required in OU3 (Newark Bay). Subject to and without waiver of its rights, including its appeal, OxyChem has accrued a reserve for design and implementation of remedies selected in the OU2 ROD and AOC and the OU4 ROD and OU4 Unilateral Administrative Order based upon a December 2024 Order of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey (District Court) approving the proposed Alden Leeds Settlement, which OxyChem is appealing. See Note 13 below, Lawsuits, Claims, Commitments and Contingencies.

OxyChem’s accrued environmental remediation reserve does not reflect the potential for additional remediation costs or natural resource damages for the DASS that OxyChem believes are not reasonably estimable. OxyChem’s ultimate liability at the DASS may be higher or lower than the reserved amount and the reasonably possible additional losses, and is subject to final design plans, further action by the EPA and natural resource trustees, and the resolution of OxyChem's allocable share with other potentially responsible parties, among other factors.

OxyChem continues to evaluate the estimated costs currently recorded for remediation at the DASS as well as the range of reasonably possible additional losses beyond those amounts currently recorded. Given the complexity and extent of the remediation efforts, estimates of the remediation costs may increase or decrease over time as new information becomes available.