Argus analyst Bill Selesky downgraded Occidental Petroleum (OXY) to Hold after its confirmed purchase of Anadarko Petroleum (APC) for $76 per share, saying the company is overpaying for the assets with a bid well above that of Chevron's (CVX) $65 per share offer. The analyst believes that Occidental will "have difficulty" achieving the forecasted $3.5B cost synergies from the transactions. Selesky also contends that Anadarko's LNG and offshore assets are not a good strategic fir for Occidental, adding that its valuation multiple near the low end of 52-week range is "warranted."

Notable companies reporting before tomorrow's open, with earnings consensus, include Exxon Mobil (XOM), consensus $2.20... Chevron (CVX), consensus $2.87... AbbVie (ABBV), consensus $2.23... HCA Healthcare (HCA), consensus $5.01... Colgate-Palmolive (CL), consensus 81c... Charter (CHTR), consensus $7.92... AutoNation (AN), consensus $4.27.

Chevron announced that its 50% owned affiliate Tengizchevroil has safely commenced operations at its Wellhead Pressure Management Project, or WPMP, at the Tengiz oil field in Kazakhstan. TCO achieved this milestone by converting its first metering station at Tengiz to low pressure and activating the associated Pressure Boost Facility, or PBF. This marks important progress for TCO's overall expansion project at Tengiz. The WPMP is designed to maintain the existing processing plants' full capacity by lowering the flowing pressure at the wellheads and then boosting the pressure to the existing plants.