Exxon Mobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil company by market value, posted lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday as it failed to offset declining production with fresh reserves.
For the fourth quarter, the company posted net income of $8.35 billion, or $1.91 per share, compared with $9.95 billion, or $2.20 per share, in the year-ago period.
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Analysts expected earnings of $1.92 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Total oil and natural gas production fell 1.8 percent from the year-ago period, with natural gas production falling around the world and oil output slipping in half the regions where Exxon operates.
Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson, in a statement to shareholders, said the company will ramp up new exploration projects over the nest two years to find newer reserves.
(Read more: US to achieve energyself-sufficiency by 2020: Exxon)
Shares of Exxon fell 0.7 percent to $94.41 in premarket trading. (Click here to get the latest quotes for the company.)
—By Reuters