Occidental denies "fight at the top" talk in CEO search

The board of Occidental Petroleum Corp , which has said it is searching for an eventual replacement for Chief Executive Stephen Chazen, denied on Monday that there was a "fight at the top" over the succession.

The Wall Street Journal reported recently that Ray Irani, the oil company's chairman and former long-time CEO, was pushing to replace Chazen.

"All decisions regarding CEO succession planning were made over many meetings by the independent directors alone in executive session, in accordance with best governance practices," the Occidental board said in a statement. "Dr. Irani did not attend, and did not play any role in, these meeting deliberations."

(Reporting by Braden Reddall in San Francisco; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)