Oct 3 (Reuters) - APA Corp said on Monday it was expecting to beat its U.S. crude output forecast for the third quarter, underscoring rising oil production in the country from pandemic lows, even as it expects a shortfall from its international operations.

Crude production in the United States is projected to rise to 11.79 million barrels per day in 2022 from 11.25 million bpd in 2021, as per a projection from the U.S. Energy Information Administration in September.

APA in August had forecast an output of 208,000 to 212,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) from its U.S. operations.

It now expects its third-quarter international crude production to fall below the lower end of its guidance of 171,000 boepd, blaming significant unplanned downtime in its North Sea production in August and September.

It also estimated average realized prices for U.S. oil at $94 per barrel for the third quarter, while international average realized oil price was estimated at $100 per barrel.

The Houston-based energy company will host its third-quarter conference call on Nov. 3. (Reporting by Ruhi Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Anil D'Silva)