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Occidental Petroleum Corporation Receives National Habitat Conservation Award

OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION RECEIVES NATIONAL HABITAT CONSERVATION AWARD

BALTIMORE, MD, Nov.30, 1999 -Employees at Occidental Petroleum Corporation's Elk Hills Conservation Area received national recognition for their contributions to wildlife habitat conservation at the Wildlife Habitat Council's 11th Annual Symposium, Wildlife in the 21st Century. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has demonstrated its commitment to environmental stewardship and increasing native biodiversity by achieving certification at its Elk Hills Conservation Area.

"Many businesses and industry landowners are finding collaborative wildlife habitat projects one excellent way to shoulder their responsibilities for environmental stewardship. Local community involvement helps mold the project to local needs and creates a sense of partnership that helps both the community and company become more sustainable. Congratulations to Occidental Petroleum Corporation for their commendable efforts towards the enhancement of wildlife habitat," said Bill Howard, president of the Wildlife Habitat Council.

Occidental of Elk Hills, Inc., a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation, has aggressively implemented proactive environmental land stewardship at its Elk Hills field and surrounding areas in the San Joaquin Valley near Bakersfield, California. Partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Game, Occidental has struck a balance between the needs of oil and gas operations and recovery objectives for six endangered species including the San Joaquin Kit Fox. The San Joaquin antelope squirrel, giant kangaroo rat, blunt-nosed leopard lizard, Tipton kangaroo rat and the Hoover's wooly star are other endangered or threatened species being protected.

Under a Conservation Agreement, 7,801 acres of habitat are managed for endangered species protection with limited oil and gas production. Occidental's conservation area far exceeds the 7,075 acres originally requested for habitat conservation by the wildlife agencies. Goals of the conservation area management plan include promoting the recovery of the endangered and threatened species and their habitat through disturbance minimization, reclamation and revegetation of previously disturbed habitat and implementation of habitat enhancement practices such as vegetation management. Endangered and threatened species populations are monitored intensively by professional biologists, along with employees and contractors of Occidental of Elk Hills, who attend continuing species awareness training programs. Pocket-sized booklets that include descriptions of the above species, field identification marks and tracks and a flow chart for the process of reporting sightings are provided to all employees and contractors.

Elk Hills Conservation Area was one of 109 sites recognized at the 1999 Symposium. Since 1990, the Wildlife Habitat Council has certified 260 sites, comprising over one million acres worldwide. The certification program recognizes outstanding wildlife habitat management and environmental education efforts at corporate sites, and offers third-party validation of the benefits of such programs. Certification requirements are strict and require that sites apply for periodic renewal.

The Wildlife Habitat Council works to increase the amount and quality of wildlife habitat on corporate, private and public lands. The Council devotes its resources to building partnerships with corporations and conservation groups to create solutions that balance the demands of economic growth with the requirements of a healthy, bio-diverse and sustainable environment. There are active programs in 45 states throughout the U.S. and in 9 countries.###