BP Is the Oil Major to Watch, Poll Says

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The coming week will be a big one for major integrated oil operations, as a whole basket of them are set to report third-quarter earnings.

The results will be a test of the hedging ability for the integrated architectures of the supermajors. Refining operations have been hit hard compared to last year because of slumping demand. Crude prices have been rising steadily in recent months, reaching a yearly high of $82 just this past week. But year-ago comparisons will be askew because of the $100-plus oil prices reached last year.

Occidental Petroleum(OXY Quote) offered a sneak peek this past week of what might be for many, showing a near 60% drop in profit and a steep fall in revenue from the year-ago period. While slashed crude prices hurt the bottom-line, still, Occidental Petroleum managed to beat expectations largely due to a beefier showing from its production operations.

Looking at the earnings reports to come this week, we asked TheStreet readers to vote on which of five pre-selected supermajors would have the best third-quarter. With 33.1% of the vote, BP(BP Quote) topped the poll, followed by second-place Exxon Mobil(XOM Quote) with 25.9% in its favor. BP will be reporting early Tuesday morning, with Exxon Mobil's figures coming on Thursday.

Chevron(CVX Quote), which finished third in the poll with 21% of the vote, gave a preliminary offering of its third-quarter numbers two weeks ago. Then, the country's second biggest oil operation said refining profits would remain flat on a sequential basis, though it expects increased production and loftier recent crude prices to boost overall earnings higher compared to the immediately preceding quarter. Chevron is set to report on Friday.