By Rebecca Elliott

Occidental Petroleum Corp. is nearly eliminating its dividend as it seeks to conserve cash amid low oil prices and weak demand due to coronavirus lockdowns.

The Houston-based oil producer, laden with debt following its $38 billion deal to buy rival Anadarko Petroleum Corp. last year, plans to pay a quarterly dividend of just 1 cent per share in July, the company said Friday.

It is the second time Occidental has cut its shareholder payout this year. The company said in March that it would reduce its dividend payable in July to 11 cents per share, from 79 cents.

The Anadarko acquisition has saddled Occidental with substantial debt that has limited its ability to maneuver this spring's oil-price decline, which saw prices fall below zero in April.

"We've taken a series of decisive financial and operational actions to ensure that Oxy has the resiliency to weather this difficult period while positioning the company to succeed in future higher price environments," Chief Executive Vicki Hollub said during the company's annual shareholder meeting Friday morning. "We've been encouraged by recent green shoots of recovery but know that we must continue to demonstrate low-cost leadership while ensuring the safety of our employees."

Occidental has slashed this year's capital spending by more than half and cut executive and employee salaries. In April, the company opted to pay Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s $200 million quarterly dividend in shares rather than cash.

Berkshire Hathaway bought $10 billion in preferred shares last year to help Occidental finance the Anadarko deal.

The company also began seeking voluntary resignations this month, according to a memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Occidental has declined to comment on the scope of the buyouts.

Occidental's shares were down about 5% early Friday afternoon, as the U.S. benchmark oil price was up less than 1%.

Write to Rebecca Elliott at rebecca.elliott@wsj.com