This would peg the yield at about 3.56%. Occidental's current outstanding debt, maturing in 2027, yielded 3.187% as of the evening of Aug. 6. The effective yield on the ICE Bank of America index of investment-grade energy debt was 3.52%. The more favorable pricing came even after Moody's, the rating agency, last week downgraded Occidental's credit rating to Baa3, the lowest investment-grade level. Matt Brill, senior portfolio manager for Invesco, said the U.S. investment-grade credit market was set to see an increase in buying by foreign investors facing negative-yielding government debt. "Foreign investors are hungry for yield because of the negative-yielding rates in Europe and elsewhere, so we think there will be a lot of demand from those investors for new credit issuance," he said. Proceeds from the deal will be used to finance Occidental's $57 billion (including debt) takeover of Anadarko.