Occidental Mulls $20B Asset Sale

Occidental Petroleum is considering a sale of its $20 billion natural gas pipeline operator Western Midstream Partners, anonymous sources told Reuters on Tuesday. The move would ease Occidental’s substantial debt burden, which has reached $19 billion as of December 31, in part due to its costly acquisition of Anadarko. Occidental also has agreed to purchase CrownRock for $12 billion, although the FTC has recently delayed the approval of that acquisition. Currently, Occidental owns 49% of Western Midstream, a master limited partnership. It…