Occidental Petroleum Third-Quarter Earnings Tops Profit Estimates

[Editor’s note: This story was updated at 7:18 p.m. CST Nov. 5.]

U.S. oil and natural gas producer Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) beat third-quarter profit estimates on the back of a surge in production from the Permian Basin and higher oil prices.

U.S. shale oil production from the Permian has nearly doubled in the last three years, while Brent crude touched a four-year high in September. Occidental said average worldwide realized crude oil prices rose 36% to $62.67 per barrel in the third quarter.

The company, which has been investing heavily to boost production in the Permian Basin, said output from its Permian Resources unit surged about 62% to 225,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe /d).

The company’s average production rose about 13.5% to 681,000 boe/d.