Oil may be having a rough week, but Occidental Petroleum’s Vicki Hollub isn’t panicking. The CEO told the Energy Intelligence Forum in London that crude prices are likely to hover in a narrow $58–$62 range through 2026, before breaking higher later in the decade.
That call looks almost clairvoyant at the moment: WTI is trading at $58.76, Brent at $62.43, all deep in the red after Monday and Tuesday’s selloff. Hollub said she remains “very bullish on oil prices — not this year or next, but I’m bullish on oil prices.”
For now, the Houston-based company is leaning on financial discipline rather than exploration frenzy. Hollub said Occidental could more than double its share price within five years if market multiples hold steady, thanks in large part to ongoing debt-to-equity conversions. And after years of dealmaking—including its high-profile Berkshire-linked asset sales—she added that Occidental “doesn’t need to do any more acquisitions.”
Her comments came as investors digest a broader reality check: oil’s fundamentals aren’t signaling another supercycle just yet. Hollub expects U.S. oil supply to peak between 2027 and 2030, a view that contrasts sharply with the shale industry’s traditional bravado.
The bigger takeaway? Occidental’s CEO is telegraphing a patient strategy—steady production, minimal capex creep, and a bet that the market will tighten naturally once U.S. growth levels off. If she’s right, today’s sub-$60 crude could look like a bargain two years from now.
For traders still trying to call the bottom, that’s either a comforting long-term thesis—or just another reminder that oil, even when “stable,” never stays that way for long.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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