(Reuters) -U.S. oil and gas producer Occidental Petroleum beat estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, aided by higher production in the Permian basin and Rocky mountains.
U.S. crude oil production has been on the rise, as companies focus on the most prospective sites and drilling efficiency.
The company reported fourth-quarter production of 1.234 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), compared with 1.227 million boepd in the year-earlier quarter.
The uptick in production helped offset a decline in prices. Its average realized price for oil decreased by about 2% from the prior quarter to $78.85 per barrel.
Its production from the Permian basin, spread across Texas and New Mexico, also rose 4.1% to 588,000 boepd, during the reported quarter. The output from the basin is expected to rise further this year, after the company closes its acquisition of smaller rival CrownRock.
Excluding CrownRock, the company forecast first-quarter production in the range of 1.16 to 1.20 million boepd, while its 2024 production is expected to be between 1.22 and 1.28 million boepd.
Its net capital expenditure in 2024 is expected to be between $6.4 billion and $6.6 billion, with $600 million going to its low carbon business.
The Houston, Texas-based company reported adjusted earnings of 74 cents per share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with analysts’ estimates of 71 cents per share, according to LSEG data.
Occidental said it has raised its quarterly dividend by 22% to 22 cents per share.
(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Shinjini Ganguli)
