Feb 18 (Reuters) - Occidental Petroleum ( OXY ) reported

a fourth-quarter loss on Tuesday, as the oil and gas firm was

hurt by environmental liability and lower prices.

Average Brent crude futures fell in the fourth

quarter, compared with a year earlier, hurt by concerns about

demand from China's slowing economy and as OPEC+ group postponed

planned supply increases and extended deep output cuts to the

end of 2026, highlighting weak demand.

The company said quarterly average realized price, for

oil, was down at $69.73 per barrel, compared with $78.85 per

barrel a year earlier.

Last month, the U.S. shale producer had

flagged

that it received lower prices for its oil produced in the

fourth quarter.

The company also said its earnings were hurt by a

long-term environmental liability increase based on a recent

federal court ruling.

The company reported a loss of $297 million for the quarter

ended December 31, compared with a profit of $1.03 billion from

a year earlier.

(Reporting by Tanay Dhumal in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil

D'Silva)