UPDATE 3-Diamondback Energy beats first quarter profit estimates on higher production

(Adds analyst comments in paragraph 6)

By Tanay Dhumal

April 30(Reuters) - Diamondback Energy beat first quarter profit estimates on Tuesday as the oil and gas firm benefited from higher oil production and better prices.

Crude oil prices in the quarter mirrored the previous year as production cuts by OPEC+ countries offset lower demand, helping oil producers like Diamondback Energy.

Quarterly oil production was at 24.8 millions of barrels (mmbls), up about 10% up from the previous year and prices for oil was up 2.7% at $75.06 per barrel for the same period.

The Midland, Texas-based company had said in February it would buy privately-held rival Endeavor Energy Partners in $26 billion cash-and-stock deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

It received a second request from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) earlier in the week seeking additional information and documentary material in connection with the deal.

"Announcement of a second FTC request for the proposed FANG/Endeavor transaction is not surprising to us, and we still fully expect the strategic/accretive deal to close this year," Truist Securities analyst Neal Dingmann said in a note.

The combined company would be the third-largest oil and gas producer in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico, behind Exxon Mobil and Chevron.

Diamondback expects production between 459,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) and 466,000 boepd in the second quarter, higher than its production of 449,912 boepd for the same period last year.

The company reported an adjusted profit of $4.50 per share for the quarter ended March 31, topping analysts' average estimate of $4.42 per share, according to LSEG data. (Reporting by Tanay Dhumal in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)