(Reuters) -Oil and gas producer Occidental Petroleum Corp’s first-quarter profit missed analysts’ estimates on Tuesday, as oil prices eased amid concerns of a slowdown in global economic growth.
Global oil prices pulled back during the reported quarter from the peaks reached last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Brent crude averaged $81.24 a barrel in the first three months of 2023, 20% lower than year-ago levels as concerns rose over the health of the global economy amid the recent banking crisis in the U.S. and China’s weaker-than-estimated economic recovery.
The Houston-based company posted adjusted earnings of $1.09 per share for the quarter, compared with analysts’ estimates of $1.24 per share, according to Refinitiv data.
Occidental, which is backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc, said its production during the first quarter rose to 1.22 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) from 1.08 million boepd a year earlier, helped by higher production from Permian.
(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Shinjini Ganguli)
