Devon profit beats Street on jump in Permian production

Nov 6 (Reuters) - U.S. oil and gas producer Devon Energy Corp posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by a jump in production from properties in the Permian basin of Texas and a rise in commodity prices.

Devon and other U.S. exploration companies, including EOG Resources Inc and Apache Corp, are investing heavily in domestic shale formations like the Eagle Ford and Permian basins as a means of increasing production.

In the third quarter, Devon earned $429 million, or $1.05 per share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $719 million, or $1.80 per share.

Excluding a gain on oil and natural gas hedges, as well as other one-time items, the profit was $1.29 per share. By that measure, analysts on average expected $1.20, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Oil production rose 16 percent to an average of 165,000 barrels per day. Much of the growth came in the company's operations in the Permian.

Devon's realized price for oil jumped 14 percent to $86.51 per barrel during the quarter.

Shares of Devon rose 0.5 percent to $64.10 in premarket trading. The stock has gained 23 percent so far this year.