Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate and investment company run by billionaire Warren Buffett, increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum to almost 15% this week. Occidental Petroleum. This is in addition to a previous deal that gives Berkshire the right to buy nearly 84 million more shares of Occidental Petroleum (OXY). Berkshire first invested $10 billion in Occidental in 2019 to help the company buy rival Anadarko Petroleum.
Shares of Occidental Petroleum rose about 7% on Thursday, making them the best in the S&P 500 index. Shares of Occidental Petroleum have nearly doubled in 2022.
Berkshire shares also rose about 2% on Thursday. Its shares are up nearly 15% this year and are trading at an all-time high.
Berkshire, along with leading energy companies, has benefited from soaring oil prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Crude oil prices have risen more than 35% this year to over $100 a barrel.
Occidental’s investment strengthens Berkshire’s already significant position in the energy industry. Berkshire has a large energy subsidiary that owns leading electric utilities such as PacifiCorp and MidAmerican, oil and gas pipelines, and several renewable energy companies.
Greg Abel, Berkshire’s vice chairman who oversees Berkshire Energy and other non-financial businesses, was called to succeed Buffett as Berkshire’s CEO last year. Berkshire also owns a stake in oil giant Chevron (CVX), which lost the bidding war. at Occidental for Anadarko in 2019.