April 30 (Reuters) - Hess reported a drop in

first-quarter profit on Wednesday, hurt by lower oil prices,

though the shale producer still managed to beat Wall Street

expectations.

Benchmark Brent crude prices averaged at $75.16 a

barrel during the January-March quarter, 8.2% lower than a year

earlier, weighed down by weak global demand and increased oil

supply from OPEC+.

The company's average realized crude oil selling price fell

to $71.22 per barrel in the first quarter, from $80.06 a barrel

a year ago.

Hess is set to be acquired by industry bellwether and larger

rival Chevron ( CVX ) in a $53 billion deal, once it clears a

final roadblock - an arbitration challenge filed by Exxon Mobil ( XOM )

and CNOOC over its prized Guyana assets.

Guyana output fell 3.7% to 183,000 barrels of oil per day

during the quarter, while total production of the company

remained flat at 476,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Hess said on Wednesday its fourth floating oil production

facility in Guyana is expected to start up in the third quarter

of 2025.

The company expects second quarter net production to be in

the range of 480,000 boepd to 490,000 boepd. That compares with

analysts' average estimate of 489,550 boepd, according to data

compiled by LSEG.

New York-based Hess' adjusted profit fell nearly 43% to

$1.81 per share during the three months ended March 31, but was

well above the estimate of $1.61 per share.