Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy), in a battle with Chevron Corp. to buy Anadarko Petroleum Corp., said Monday it exceeded the high end of production guidance during the first quarter as output from its No. 1 target, the Permian Basin, continued to climb.

Total production in 1Q2019 hit 719,000 boe/d, versus 609,000 boe/d a year earlier. U.S. production increased to 421,000 boe/d from 336,000 boe/d.

The Permian Resources unit alone increased output to 261,000 boe/d, up 47% year/year and 4% sequentially. International production climbed slightly to 298,000 boe/d from 290,000 boe/d.

“We’re proud to have completed another strong quarter with all three of our business segments performing exceptionally well,” CEO Vicki Hollub said. “Occidental continues to execute on its returns-focused strategy of generating free cash flow and value-based production growth.”

Hollub on Sunday sent a letter to the Anadarko board that raised Oxy’s offer to $76/share, comprised of $59 in cash and 0.2934 share for each Anadarko share.

The revised proposal, unanimously approved by the Oxy board, “represents an estimated premium of 23.3%” to Chevron’s pending offer estimated to be worth around $61.62/share as of market close on Friday (May 3), Hollub noted. Chevron’s initial proposal, although lower, is still favored by Anadarko’s board, which is structured 50-50 cash/debt.

Oxy said its U.S. natural gas realizations declined to $1.36/Mcf from $2.06 in the year-ago quarter, while average worldwide oil prices fell to $52.62/bbl from $61.04. Natural gas liquids prices dropped to an average $18.14/bbl from $25.35 a year ago.

Net income was $631 million (84 cents/share) in the first quarter, off from year-ago profits of $708 million (92 cents). Operating cash flow decreased to $948 million from $1 billion a year ago.

Oxy earned $265 million during the quarter from the chemicals unit, compared to $223 million for 4Q2018. The increase “reflected favorable feedstock costs, primarily ethylene and natural gas,” as well as from fees received under a pipeline easement agreement.

Production from the chemicals business in 1Q2019 was negatively impacted by a third-party tank farm fire southeast of Houston at the Deer Park operations, as various operations were curtailed. The facilities have since resumed operations.