U.S. oil major Occidental Petroleum (OXY) has announced a strong first-quarter profit due to a boost in natural gas prices.
The Houston, Texas-based company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.87, which topped the consensus estimate among analysts of $0.78 U.S.
The company’s revenue in the period totaled $6.80 billion U.S., which fell short of Wall Street forecasts that called for sales of $6.96 billion U.S.
Management said that the quarterly profit was helped by higher crude oil production and favorable oil and natural gas prices.
Brent crude oil, the international standard, averaged $74.98 U.S. a barrel during this year’s first quarter, while U.S. natural gas prices hit a two-year high on March 10.
Occidental Petroleum credited its results largely to the lift it got from natural gas prices.
The company said that its domestic realized price for total natural gas production rose 92% to $2.42 U.S. per thousand cubic feet.
The company’s realized price for natural gas liquids (NGL) was $25.94 U.S. a barrel, up 19% quarter-over-quarter.
Management also said that they lowered the company’s debt load by $2 billion U.S. during Q1 of this year.
Occidental Petroleum had more than $25 billion U.S. of debt at the end of 2024 and executives at the company have made paying it down a priority.
The stock of Occidental Petroleum has decreased 22% this year to trade at $39.01 U.S. a share.
