Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY.US) Q3 profits exceed expectations, as production growth offsets the impact of falling oil prices.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY.US) announced that their third-quarter profits exceeded Wall Street expectations, as increased production from the American shale oil producer offset the impact of falling oil prices. According to data compiled by LSEG, the company based in Houston, Texas reported adjusted earnings of 64 cents per share for the three months ending on September 30, higher than the expected 52 cents per share. However, revenue decreased by 6% year-on-year to $6.72 billion, slightly below expectations. In August, oil and gas production in the United States reached a historic high, despite a more than 13% drop in Brent crude oil prices during that period, due to increased supply by OPEC+ and slowing global demand. Occidental Petroleum Corporation stated that they greatly benefited from the acquisition of CrownRock for $12 billion last August. The company reported a global average daily production of 1.46 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMboepd) in the third quarter, higher than the 1.41 million barrels a year ago. In the July to September period, actual oil prices dropped from $75.33 per barrel a year ago to $64.78 per barrel. Their larger competitors Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM.US) and Chevron Corporation (CVX.US) also reported third-quarter profits exceeding analyst expectations, thanks to increased production. Occidental Petroleum Corporation expects fourth-quarter production to be between 1.44 million and 1.48 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Analysts, as per data collected by LSEG, estimated the fourth-quarter production to be an average of 1.44 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Production of oil and gas in the Permian Basin in the fourth quarter is expected to be between 795,000 and 815,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Melius Research analyst James West stated that the market anticipates "more upside" in the fourth-quarter guidance, as energy stocks have recently performed well. Last month, Occidental Petroleum Corporation sold OxyChem to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway for $9.7 billion, marking a new chapter. This was the company's largest asset divestiture in years, aimed at improving their financial situation by reducing debt. The company repaid $1.3 billion in debt in the third quarter. As of September 30, their long-term net debt was $20.85 billion.