Fourth-largest U.S. oil company Occidental Petroleum Corp said its daily domestic oil and gas production rose to a record 478,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe), most of which was oil or natural gas liquids. "WEAK" BEAT Exxon's quarterly profit edged up, helped by higher earnings in its chemicals business but oil and gas production fell. Earnings per share for the world's largest publicly traded oil company topped Wall Street expectations but the gains largely came after a big stock buyback reduced the number of outstanding shares. Analysts at Credit Suisse characterized it as a "weak" beat in a note to clients. Exxon said it will lower its quarterly share buyback to $4 billion in the second quarter, below the $5 billion in the first quarter. First-quarter profit for the world's largest publicly traded oil company was $2.12 per share.