May 5 (Reuters) - Oasis Petroleum Inc, which operates in North Dakota's oil-rich Bakken shale field, posted a better-than-expected first-quarter profit as production rose.

First-quarter production increased to 42,856 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) from 30,153 boed, a year earlier.

The company also said it expects second-quarter production to range between 43,000 and 46,000 boed.

Excluding items, the company earned 65 cents per share, beating street expectations of profit of 62 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company posted net income of $170 million, or $1.70 per share, in the quarter ended March 31, much higher than the $51.9 million, or 56 cents per share, a year earlier.

Net income more than tripled in the quarter, partly helped by a gain of $183.4 million on the sale of some of its assets in Sanish in North Dakota.

Revenue rose 40 percent to $349.5 million.

(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder in New York and Anannya Pramanick in Bangalore)