HOUSTON, May 8 (Reuters) - Occidental Petroleum ( OXY )

Chief Executive Vicki Hollub on Wednesday said the company hopes

to close the acquisition of shale oil producer CrownRock before

the second-quarter earnings call, which typically happens in

early August.

"By that time, I believe, we will have closed," Hollub told

analysts, when asked in an earnings call when the company

expects to incorporate CrownRock into its oil production

guidance.

Closing will happen "certainly sometime in the third

quarter," she said.

Occidental in

December proposed

to buy Permian producer CrownRock in a $12 billion

cash-and-stock deal including debt. It wants to expand its

presence in the largest U.S. oilfield as part of a wider

consolidation wave among shale producers.

The company is working to answer a

second request

for information on the acquisition by U.S. regulators and

does not anticipate impediments for closing, Hollub said.

Excluding the acquisition, Occidental said it plans to

increase oil production in the Permian basin from its current

operations by 18,000 barrels per day in the second half of 2024,

with gains in efficiency allowing the company to reduce the rig

count, senior key executive Richard Jackson said.