Occidental Petroleum Corp. reported lower third-quarter earnings...

Occidental Petroleum Corp. reported lower third-quarter earnings as the plunging price of oil was only partially offset by higher natural-gas prices and lower costs.

The Los Angeles-based company earned $71 million, or 20 cents a share, on sales of $1.92 billion in the July-September quarter. A year earlier, it earned $84 million, or 27 cents a share, on sales of $2.13 billion.

Occidental’s oil and gas earnings were down 75% to $19 million. The company said the net effect of lower oil prices and higher gas prices reduced its earnings by about $41 million in the quarter. The company also paid out $18 million of its oil and gas earnings to cover unspecified environmental and litigation matters.

Earnings from its chemical operations were 48% higher at $43 million.