Why Buffett is Buying Occidental Petroleum Stock Source: Shutterstock Spurred by purchases from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A ), Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY ) emerged as a big winner in 2022, with OXY stock more than doubling in price. Occidental was founded in 1920 by Armand Hammer, whose 1996 biography called him a Soviet agent. Since Hammer’s death in 1990, Occidental has increasingly focused on domestic energy. Occidental was a major player in the 2010s’ fracking boom. It continued to grow despite the fracking bust, buying Anadarko Petroleum for what became $38 billion in debt, just before the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, it was on the verge of bankruptcy . But the company managed to survive, and by March of this year, Berkshire had scooped up more than 136 million shares . Berkshire continued to add to its position in the second quarter, which by the end of June had grown to a 16.4% stake . Buffett’s move on Occidental is mainly aimed at its debt. Debt that looks bad to you and me can look good to Berkshire.