Occidental Petroleum Corporation has signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) for joint participation in hydrocarbon-related investments.

The agreement between Oxy and IPIC, a company wholly owned by the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, provides for the companies to jointly evaluate and participate in development of upstream and downstream projects both within and outside the Middle East Region.

The decision to participate in any project is at the discretion of each company.

"This agreement is a natural extension of our existing strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi which currently includes the highly successful Dolphin project, development of the giant Mukhaizna Field in Oman, and an exploration joint venture in Libya. It further strengthens our relationship with the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and we expect it will provide significant new opportunities to increase Oxy's presence in the Middle East/North Africa region. We are pleased to be working with IPIC and the Abu Dhabi government and expect to further expand our joint activities in the near future," said Dr Ray R Irani, chairman and chief executive officer of Occidental Petroleum Corporation.

"We are excited to be partnering with a world class company to pursue opportunities for growth. Occidental Petroleum's best in class operating skills combined with its long standing commitment to Abu Dhabi will add tremendous value to IPIC strategy," said Khadem Al Qubaisi, managing director of IPIC.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation is an international oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, Middle East/North Africa and Latin America regions. -TradeArabia News Service