May 05, 2026 [Reuters]- Occidental Petroleum beat first-quarter profit estimates and lowered its annual production forecast on Tuesday, ​as the war in Iran weighs on its global operations.

The ‌U.S. shale producer has a 40% interest in the Shah gas field in the United Arab Emirates, one of the world’s largest sour gas fields, where operations have ​remained suspended since an Iranian attack on March 16.

Its other international ​assets are primarily located in Algeria, Oman and Qatar, with the ⁠business accounting for 16.2% of its total output in 2025.

International production ​is expected to range between 218,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) and ​228,000 boepd in 2026. It had earlier forecast 230,000-240,000 boepd.

The producer lowered its total production outlook to 1.41-1.46 mmboepd, compared with its prior expectations of 1.42-1.48 mmboepd.

The Houston-based company ​posted an adjusted profit of $1.06 per share for the quarter ended March ​31, compared with expectations of 58 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.

TIMING WEIGHS ‌ON ⁠PERFORMANCE

Occidental’s realized price for each barrel of oil produced slipped 1.6% to $69.91 in the first quarter.

Melius Research analyst James West said the lower realizations were “likely a timing issue.”

Most producers hedge their sales of crude, natural gas and refined ​products using financial ​derivatives to mitigate ⁠the risk of price changes during the time it takes to ship cargoes to customers, which could take weeks ​between the United States and Asia.

Most of the crude ​sales during ⁠the quarter took place before oil prices surged, West said, adding that it was commodity traders who captured some of the spike.

Larger rivals Exxon Mobil and ⁠Chevron ​reported a fall in first-quarter earnings due ​to accounting mismatches from derivative-related timing effects.