By Vallari Srivastava
(Reuters) -U.S. shale firm Occidental Petroleum said on Wednesday the prices it received for oil and gas production during the first quarter were higher than in the preceding three months.
Benchmark Brent crude prices averaged $74.98 a barrel during the first quarter, up 1.3% from the prior quarter, while U.S. natural gas prices jumped 30%, helped by higher demand from a cold winter in the country.
Last week, industry bellwether Exxon Mobil also signaled higher oil and gas prices and stronger refining margins would help lift its earnings by roughly $900 million.
Occidental’s shares, which have fallen nearly 19% so far this year, closed up over 11% on Wednesday following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement to further increase tariffs on China and temporarily lower the levies he announced last week for most other countries.
Earnings snapshots released by shale producers such as Exxon and Occidental are closely watched by investors to gauge how the industry will fare when companies begin reporting quarterly results in a few weeks.
Occidental said its average realized price for oil output was $71.07 per barrel, compared to $69.73 per barrel it realized during the last quarter of 2024.
Meanwhile, its average realized price for total natural gas production rose to $2.30 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) from $1.26 per Mcf during the quarter ended December 31. The company’s realized price for natural gas liquids (NGL) was $25.94 per barrel, up roughly 19% from the fourth quarter.
Roth MKM analyst Leo Mariani said natgas realization for the quarter was nearly 7% above the brokerage’s expectations, while NGL prices surpassed estimates by 8.5%.
The producer will report its first-quarter financial results on May 8. Analysts expect the company to post an adjusted profit of 72 cents per share for the three months ended March 31, according to data compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
