Amid a robust takeover battle that pits Chevron Corp against CNOOC Ltd., Unocal Corp. on Thursday said it expects second-quarter earnings to meet or exceed Wall Street projections due to record-high oil prices.

El Segundo-based Unocal expects adjusted earnings per share for the second quarter of between $1.65 to $1.70. Analysts on average anticipated earnings per share of $1.37.

Second-quarter results assume benchmark prices of $52.25 per barrel of crude oil and $6.88 per million British thermal units for natural gas.

But the company said it was unable to project second-quarter net earnings per share because of the timing of certain special items. Second-quarter special items are expected to include a $12 million after-tax gain from the sale of its 76 Seadrift LLC unit.

Unocal said it expected second-quarter net production to average 455,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with an average of 440,000 BOE per day for the full year, up 2 percent from its previous forecast.

The company also said it would take a $6 million pretax charge in the quarter for the Chilkoot well in the Gulf of Mexico, which is considered noncommercial based on drilling results.

Unocal will announce its second-quarter results on Aug. 1.

Company shareholders will vote Aug. 10 on a $16.6 billion acquisition offer from Chevron Corp., but the company is also considering a politically charged $18.5 billion all-cash bid from CNOOC Ltd.

On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted to block the administration from using any funds to “recommend the approval” of CNOOC’s bid. The measure was attached to a spending bill for the departments of Treasury, Transportation and other agencies for the fiscal year that starts on Oct. 1.