Occidental Petroleum and Valero Energy Corporations
Columbia College

Introduction
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Oxy) and Valero Energy Corporation (Valero) are both international oil and gas companies, with Valero also specializing in marketing of transportation fuels, petrochemical products, and power. Each company has made an international footprint on the earth by extracting billions of gallons of oil and petroleum products worldwide.
Oxy was founded in California in 1920, but did not make its first major discovery until 1961. It began operations in the Middle East over 40 years ago, which now accounts for more than one third of its production. In 1983, Oxy opened additional operations in Latin America. Since then, more than one billion barrels of oil have been produced at its Caño Limón location in Columbia. Today, nearly two-thirds of its production comes from the United States, with specific operations located in California, Colorado, Kansas, North Dakota, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas (Occidental Highlights, 2013).
Valero was created in 1980 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. In 1997, it began adding more refineries and today stands at a total of 16. Valero expanded into the retail and wholesale markets and now supplies 7,300 outlets, to include the brands of Diamond Shamrock, Shamrock and Beacon, Ultramar, and Texaco in the United States, the Caribbean, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland (Valero History, 2013).
Occidental Petroleum and Valero Energy Corporations
Like many petroleum companies, Oxy and Valero both are committed to protecting the environment, maintaining high safety standards, and being socially responsible to its worldwide communities (Occidental Overview, 2013, Valero Commitment, 2013). Valero goes one step further and encourages its employees to give back to the community through volunteer programs