Stephen Chazen, long-time Occidental Petroleum executive, dies at 76

Magnolia Oil & Gas

23/09/2022 16:38

By Gary McWilliams
       HOUSTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Stephen Chazen, who rose to
the top of Occidental Petroleum  OXY.N  during a lengthy career
and after his retirement started and ran a Texas shale-oil
producer, has died aged 76 after an illness.
    Chazen was chief executive and chairman of Houston-based
Magnolia Oil and Gas Corp, which he helped start in 2017 after
leaving Occidental and ran until this week. Chazen, who early in
his career was a finance executive, acquired shale properties
and pledged to put cash flow above production.
    Magnolia, which disclosed his death on Friday, had said two
days earlier Chazen was stepping down as chairman and CEO due to
"serious health reasons."  
    He had a lengthy career at Occidental, which he joined in
1994 and climbed through its finance ranks to become CEO. He
helped advance the career of Occidental's current CEO, Vicki
Hollub. Chazen rejoined Occidental as a director in 2019. 
    "Steve played a significant role in transforming Oxy into a
focused global energy leader over the past 30 years, serving as
chief financial officer, CEO and most recently as independent
board chairman," Hollub said in a statement.
    "He was the type of businessman who didn’t follow trends,
but rather established trends," said Christopher Stavos, who
took over this week as Magnolia CEO. "Steve had a profound
impact on how E&P companies are managed with an objective of
creating long-lasting shareholder value."
    Magnolia was started in 2017 as a "blank check" company by
investors betting on Chazen's reputation and track record.    
Chazen used the investors' money to acquire shale oil and gas
properties in South Texas's Eagle Ford shale region. 
    He built the company to focus on generating cash in excess
of capital investment and for modest production growth. That
formula - strong cash flow from single-digit volume growth - was
uncommon at the time but is now widely adopted by other U.S.
shale oil producers.  
    Chazen was "the single most important oil man of his
generation," said Paul Sankey, a long-time oil equity analyst,
who said Chazen combined "unwavering clarity of viewpoint,
iconoclasm, and enormous humour."  
    Hollub said, "We cared for him deeply and our thoughts and
prayers are with his wife, family and friends."
    Plans for a memorial service were not immediately available.
 
 (Reporting by Gary McWilliams
Editing by Frances Kerry)
 ((Gary.McWilliams@thomsonreuters.com; +1 469-691-7668;))