Occidental Petroleum Corp. has reported a larger-than expected quarterly loss as the company produced fewer barrels of oil and gas and commodity prices remained low.
The Houston-based company’s production from ongoing operations, including its international business, fell 12.2 percent to 605,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day.
The company said its average worldwide realized crude oil prices were $41.49 per barrel, down 13.2 percent from a year earlier.
Occidental said its daily production in Texas’ Permian Basin rose by 5,000 boe, but was offset by lower production of natural gas and related liquids.
Occidental said on Monday it acquired 35,000 acres (14,164 hectares) of West Texas acreage for $2 billion in cash, boosting its position in the oil-rich Permian Basin.
The company’s quarterly net loss narrowed to $241 million, or 32 cents per share, from $2.61 billion, or $3.42 per share.
The year-earlier quarter included a $2.6 billion after-tax charge related to scrapped projects and a sharp decline in oil and gas prices.
Adjusted loss of 15 cents per share was larger than the average analyst estimate of 11 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue fell 15.8 percent to $2.73 billion, but came in above expectations of $2.69 billion.

Source: Arab News