Occidental Petroleum (OXY.US) reported fourth-quarter profits that surpassed Wall Street forecasts on Wednesday, with robust performance from its midstream segment helping to mitigate the impact of lower crude oil prices. According to data compiled by LSEG, adjusted earnings per share for the quarter ended December 31 were $0.31, exceeding the expected $0.18. Revenue fell 5.2% year-over-year to $5.42 billion. The quarterly results were affected by declining commodity prices. Pre-tax income from the oil and gas business totaled $700 million in the fourth quarter, down from $1.3 billion in the third quarter. The average realized price for oil dropped to $59.22 per barrel from $69.73 per barrel a year earlier, while daily production increased slightly to 1.48 million barrels of oil equivalent, exceeding the high end of the company's guidance. During the quarter, growing concerns over a global oil supply surplus pressured prices, with the average global realized crude price falling more than 9%. Prices for natural gas liquids declined 15% to $16.68 per barrel, and domestic U.S. natural gas realizations fell 24% to $1.12 per thousand cubic feet. In contrast, the company's midstream business reported a pre-tax profit of $204 million, a significant improvement from $81 million in the prior quarter and a loss of $123 million in the same period last year. Growth in this segment was driven by improved natural gas margins due to optimized Permian Basin transportation capacity, lower long-haul crude transportation costs, and higher sulfur prices at the Al Hosn field, a joint venture with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). Occidental stated it anticipates 2026 capital expenditures to be between $5.5 billion and $5.9 billion, with average production expected to range from 1.42 million to 1.48 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. First-quarter production is forecast to be between 1.38 million and 1.42 million barrels per day. Concurrently, the company announced it has reduced its debt by $5.8 billion since mid-December, following the completion of the OxyChem sale transaction on January 2, bringing the total debt principal down to $15 billion. It added that it aims to manage its debt principal to approximately $14.3 billion by 2026. Occidental had accumulated significant debt following its $55 billion acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum in 2019 and the $12 billion purchase of CrownRock last year. As of December 31, the Houston-based company's long-term debt stood at $20.63 billion. Furthermore, the quarterly dividend was increased by over 8% to $0.26 per share, payable on April 15, 2026, to shareholders of record on March 10, 2026. The quarterly per-share dividend has doubled over the past four years.