The surge in crude prices is igniting traders' appetite for one of the energy sector's most notable leaders. Traders piled into bullish options trades on Occidental Petroleum (OXY) ahead of its earnings report on Tuesday, with call volumes outpacing puts seven-to-one, and three times as many calls bought in Monday's session versus sold. Among the ten biggest trades by dollar amount, nine were buying upside exposure via calls or call spreads. In one of the biggest trades of the day, one trader spent $175,000 on a call spread expiring this Friday. They bought just under 5,000 of the 63-strike calls in OXY and sold the same amount of 69-strike calls, a bullish bet looking for a fresh 1-year high in the stock by the end of the week. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Occidental, YTD Occidental shares closed higher by 2.7% Monday and were trading slightly lower Tuesday. Recent earnings history makes a compelling case that a positive earnings reaction could happen.…