Occidental says profit up 13% in 3rd quarter

Rising oil prices and higher production boosted profit at Occidental Petroleum Corp. by 13% to $1.3 billion for the third quarter, the Westwood-based oil company said Wednesday.

Occidental’s net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 was equal to $1.58 a share, and was up from $1.17 billion, or $1.36 a share, in the same quarter last year. The per-share income was disproportionately higher because the company had been buying back stock, which reduced the number of shares outstanding.

The company said its third-quarter results included after-tax gains of $72 million from the sale of exploration properties, $34 million from the sale of noncore assets and $8 million from discontinued operations. Without those special items, Occidental posted record operating income of $1.2 billion, or $1.45 a share -- well above average analyst expectations of $1.31 a share, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.

Occidental’s shares rose $1.08 to $67.83.

Like most oil companies, Occidental benefited from recent increases in the price of oil, which hit records during the third quarter that were subsequently surpassed. Most energy companies are expected to post multibillion-dollar profits this quarter -- just not at the levels of a year ago because of lower refining earnings and increased costs.

Worldwide production for the quarter rose 7% to the equivalent of 570,000 barrels of oil a day, aided by the start-up of Occidental’s giant Dolphin natural gas project in Qatar and higher output from operations in the Middle East and the United States.

Even with the addition of the Dolphin project, production for the quarter was below the company’s July forecast of 585,000 to 590,000 barrels a day. Occidental attributed the shortfall to delays completing a production acquisition, a strike in Argentina and contracts that reduced the company’s share of oil production when prices rose.

Revenue for the quarter rose to $4.8 billion, up 10% from $4.4 billion a year earlier.

Separately, Houston-based oil company ConocoPhillips said third-quarter net income fell 5% to $3.67 billion, or $2.23 a share, from $3.88 billion, or $2.31, a year earlier.

ConocoPhillips said its quarterly revenue fell to $46.1 billion from $48.1 billion.

elizabeth.douglass@latimes.com

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The Associated Press was used in compiling this report.