Occidental Petroleum announced today that Stephen I. Chazen, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Magnolia Oil and Gas Corporation, effective March 18, 2020, has been elected to its Board of Directors as Chairman of the Board.  

Mr. Chazen has more than 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. Prior to founding the NYSE listed Magnolia Oil and Gas Corporation in 2018, Mr. Chazen served as Chief Executive Officer of Occidental from 2011 to his retirement in 2016 and as a director from 2010 to 2017. 

"We are delighted to welcome Steve back to the Occidental family at this pivotal moment for the Company. Steve brings unique perspective and experience to the Board gained through his service as Occidental's Chief Executive Officer and his subsequent position as Chief Executive Officer of Magnolia Oil and Gas Corporation," said Jack Moore, Independent Vice Chairman. "Steve oversaw a sustained period of value creation during his more than 20 years as an executive officer at Occidental, including five years as Chief Executive Officer, and has continued to expand his skill set after leaving the Company by leading a special purpose acquisition company through its initial public offering, initial business combination and emergence as a publicly-traded oil and gas exploration and production company. Steve's deep knowledge of Occidental and decades of operational and financial leadership in the industry will benefit the Board and add valuable insight as Occidental continues to focus on generating returns for shareholders and managing this challenging macroeconomic environment." 

Regarding his appointment to the Board, Mr. Chazen stated, "The current macroenvironment is among the most difficult I have seen in my career. I am confident that the Board and this management team, led by Vicki Hollub, have the operational experience to guide Occidental through the challenges ahead, and my goal is to help them succeed. My primary focus and occupation remains as serving in the role of CEO of Magnolia.  I will not serve as an employee or executive of Occidental on any basis, whether interim or permanent.  It should be noted that Magnolia is a medium sized, South Texas focused, oil and gas producer.  Its principles are a controlled capital spending program, moderate production growth and low financial leverage. This results in a sizeable portion of Magnolia's cash flow being undesignated."

Prior to serving as Chief Executive Officer of Occidental, Mr. Chazen served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer and in other roles dating back to his joining the company in 1994. Prior to joining Occidental, Mr. Chazen served as Managing Director in Corporate Finance and Mergers and Acquisitions at Merrill Lynch. Mr. Chazen is a former Chairman of the Board of the American Petroleum Institute and he currently serves on the Board of Advisors of the Baker Institute, the Board of Regents of the University of Houston, and he is a Director of Houston Methodist Institute for Academic Medicine, the Williams Companies and the National Park Foundation. Mr. Chazen holds a Ph.D. in Geology from Michigan State University, a master's degree in Finance from the University of Houston, and a bachelor's degree in Geology from Rutgers College.

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