Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) is reportedly exploring the sale of a portion of its Permian Basin assets. The deal could fetch over $1 billion for the oil company. It's part of the company's plans to maintain a strong financial position following its pending acquisition of CrownRock.

The proposed sale would enable Occidental Petroleum to jump-start its asset sale program. It plans to sell up to $6 billion of assets to help pay off some of the debt it will take on to acquire CrownRock. Starting early could help the company avoid repeating the situation it found itself in after acquiring Anadarko Petroleum. It nearly drowned in the debt it incurred to buy Anadarko because oil prices crashed right after it closed that massive deal.

Reuters recently reported that Occidental Petroleum is working with a financial advisor to seek buyers for its assets in the Barilla Draw region of Texas. The position is part of the prolific Permian Basin. The assets cover 27,500 net acres and produce 24,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/d).

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Source Fool.com