Occidental Reports Higher Profit

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Occidental Petroleum Corp. said Friday its second-quarter earnings more than doubled, fueled by higher energy prices and profits from its chemicals business.


The L.A.-based oil and gas exploration and production company reported net income of $1.5 billion ($3.78 per diluted share) for the second quarter, compared with $581 million ($1.46) for the like period a year earlier. Revenue rose to $3.5 billion from $2.7 billion in the comparable period of the prior year.


Analysts had forecast earnings of $2.28 for the quarter on revenue of $2.7 billon.


Second-quarter results include a $619 million tax benefit and an $89 million gain from the sale of 11 million shares of Lyondell Chemical Co. Excluding these items, net income totaled $851 million ($2.12 per diluted share), versus $584 million ($1.49) for the like period a year earlier. Occidental still owns 30.3 million Lyondell shares and warrants to purchase an additional 5 million shares, the company said.


Oil and gas segment earnings rose 35 percent to $1.3 billion from $980 million in the year-ago quarter on elevated crude oil and gas prices, partially offset by higher operating and exploration expenses.


Earnings in the company’s chemical segment jumped to $225 million from $92 million a year ago, resulting from higher sales prices.


Occidental said worldwide production for the first six months of the year was 560,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down from 571,000 BOEPD a year earlier. The company said production would have been 15,000 BOEPD higher had energy prices been lower, due to the terms of various production-sharing deals.

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