Occidental Petroleum announced that its Occidental Chemical subsidiary has tentatively agreed to sell its Durez phenolic resins and compounding business and assets to Sumitomo Bakelite of Japan.

LOS ANGELES — Occidental Petroleum Corp. announced that its Occidental Chemical Corp. subsidiary has tentatively agreed to sell its Durez phenolic resins and compounding business and assets to Sumitomo Bakelite Co. Ltd. of Japan. Financial terms were not disclosed. Included in the proposed sale are manufacturing facilities at Niagara Falls, NY; Kenton, OH; Fort Erie, Ontario; and Genk, Belgium.

Occidental said the transaction is part of the previously announced program of its chemicals unit to focus on its core chlor-alkali and vinyls businesses. Sumitomo Bakelite has said it plans to expand its worldwide business to North America and Europe.