Shale producer APA beats third-quarter profit estimates

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Oil and gas producer APA APA.O surpassed Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on Wednesday, as elevated oil prices helped counter a decline in output.

The Iran war, now in its ninth month, has disrupted Middle East energy supplies and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime chokepoint. The average price of benchmark Brent crude was 31% higher at $89.27 per barrel for the September quarter compared with a year earlier.

Most of APA's operations are based in the US, besides Egypt, the North Sea and Suriname.

APA's realized price for each barrel of oil produced came in at $92.02, compared with $67.43 a year earlier.

The company said its production fell to 450,276 barrels of oil equivalent per day during the quarter, from 463,815 boepd a year earlier.

The Houston, Texas-based company posted an adjusted profit of $1.94 per share for the three months ended September 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.55 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.