Exxon Mobil posted the smallest earnings increase among the world's three largest oil companies, falling short of analyst estimates as production dropped and profit margins from refining narrowed.
Exxon Mobil fell 2.5 per cent to $90.77 in trading before US exchanges opened after the Irving, Texas-based company said first-quarter net income rose to $10.9 billion, or $2.03 a share, from $9.28 billion, or $1.62, a year earlier.
Per-share profit was 10 cents below the average of 17 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Exxon Mobil's 17 per cent profit increase lagged behind the gains of 25 per cent and 63 per cent reported this week by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Oil and gas production fell 5.6 per cent, leaving Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson unable to take full advantage of record crude prices.
US refining profit at Exxon Mobil, the world's largest company by market value, plunged by more than half.
Revenue climbed 34 percent to $116.9 billion, Exxon Mobil said in a statement. That was almost $2.6 billion below analyst estimates.
US oil futures breached $100 a barrel for the first time in January and averaged $97.82, up 68 percent from the 2007 first quarter. The gain, the steepest since 2000, was offset by narrowing profit margins on refined fuels and contracts that give oil-rich governments a bigger share of output when prices rise.
Growth in worldwide demand for petroleum-based fuels accelerated to 2.2 per cent in the first quarter from 1.2 per cent in the preceding three months, according to the International
Energy Agency.