Feb 20 (Reuters) - U.S. shale oil producer Diamondback Energy topped Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by strong oil and gas production.

U.S. crude oil production has been on the rise as companies have boosted efficiency by focusing on the most prospective sites and boring longer horizontal well sections to maximize contact with oil-bearing rock.

The company reported production of 462,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) for the fourth quarter, compared with 391,402 boepd in the year-ago quarter.

The rise in production helped offset a decline in prices. Its average unhedged realized price for oil fell to $76.42 per barrel, compared with $80.37 per barrel, last year.

The company expects first-quarter production in the range of 458,000 to 464,000 boepd.

The Midland, Texas-based firm reported adjusted net income of $4.74 per share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with average analysts' estimate of $4.66 per share, according to LSEG data. (Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)