Occidental Petroleum's Q3 net income up nearly 50% year-over-year to US$1.77B, revenue up 26.1% to US$6.01B on record domestic production, higher oil prices

Graziela Medina Shepnick

NEW YORK , October 27, 2011 (Associated Press) – Occidental Petroleum says its third-quarter net income jumped nearly 50 percent on the back of record domestic production and higher oil prices.

Worldwide crude oil prices were $97.33 per barrel over the first nine months of 2011, compared with only $73.58 per barrel during the same period last year, Occidental said.

"The third quarter 2011 domestic production was 436,000 (barrels of oil equivalent) per day," said President and CEO Stephen I. Chazen. "The highest in Occidental's history."

The Los Angeles company on Thursday reported earnings of $1.77 billion, or $2.17 per share, for the quarter. That compares with $1.19 billion, or $1.46 per share, for the same part of 2010. Revenue increased 26.1 percent to $6.01 billion.

The results shattered Wall Street estimates of $1.97 per share on revenue of $5.46 billion, according to FactSet. Shares of Occidental Petroleum Corp. jumped 4 percent, or $3.52, in premarket trading to $90.72.

Domestic volumes spiked thanks to operations in South Texas and the Williston Basin, even as production in the Middle East and North Africa production declined because of the conflict in Libya and price issues.

During the quarter, Occidental cranked up oil and gas production by 5 percent to 739,000 barrels per day. Oil prices increased 34.5 percent to $97.24 per barrel and natural gas prices rose slightly to $4.23 per 1,000 cubic feet.

And earnings in the chemical segment hit $717 million over the first three quarters of the year, more than doubling earnings from the same period in 2010. Occidental saw strong exports of its chemicals and higher margins with demand higher for almost all of its products.

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