8-KShareholder Matters

OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM CORP /DE/ 8-K Report, Shareholder Vote Results (May 11, 2022)

Filed May 11, 2022For Securities:OXYOXY-WT

Summary

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) filed an 8-K on May 11, 2022, detailing the results of its 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on May 6, 2022. The meeting saw strong shareholder support for the Board of Directors' nominees, with all nine proposed directors being overwhelmingly elected. Additionally, shareholders approved the advisory vote on named executive officer compensation and ratified the selection of KPMG as the company's independent auditor for the fiscal year 2022. However, a significant shareholder proposal seeking enhanced greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets aligned with the Paris Agreement was not approved. This indicates that while the company enjoys broad confidence in its governance and financial oversight, there is a divergence of opinion on the urgency and scope of its climate-related targets among its shareholder base, with a substantial minority voting in favor of the more aggressive environmental proposal.

Key Highlights

  • 1All nine director nominees proposed by the Board of Directors were elected by a significant majority of shareholders.
  • 2Shareholders overwhelmingly approved the advisory vote on executive compensation, with over 97% voting in favor.
  • 3The selection of KPMG as Occidental's independent auditor for the year ending December 31, 2022, was ratified with nearly 98% of the vote.
  • 4A shareholder proposal requesting the company set greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets consistent with the Paris Agreement was not approved, failing to garner sufficient support.
  • 5The climate-related shareholder proposal received approximately 16.5% of the vote in favor, indicating a notable minority interest in more aggressive environmental targets.
  • 6A substantial number of broker non-votes (over 96 million) were recorded across all proposals, particularly for director elections and the climate proposal.

Frequently Asked Questions

The 2022 Annual Meeting resulted in the re-election of all nine director nominees, approval of executive compensation, and ratification of KPMG as the independent auditor. A shareholder proposal seeking Paris Agreement-aligned greenhouse gas reduction targets was not approved.

The shareholder proposal requesting Occidental Petroleum to set and disclose quantitative short-, medium-, and long-term greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets consistent with the Paris Agreement was not approved. It received approximately 16.51% of the votes in favor and 83.07% against.

The overwhelming support for director nominees and executive compensation suggests that shareholders generally have confidence in the current leadership and the company's compensation structure as presented by the Board of Directors.

Broker non-votes occur when a broker holding shares in "street name" for a client does not receive voting instructions from the client. The significant number of broker non-votes, especially on the climate proposal, means that a large portion of the outstanding shares did not directly participate in the decision-making on that specific matter, potentially limiting the impact of the votes cast.