Exxon misses estimates as international production suffers

Chicago

THE partial shutdown of a Dutch natural gas field and lingering effects of Canadian forest fires unexpectedly cut oil and gas production for Exxon Mobil Corp, spurring a US$10 billion loss in market value for the company after it reported earnings that fell short of analyst estimates.

Exxon clawed back half that value later in the day, falling 1.5 per cent at the close of trading. Still, the drop shows the skittishness of investors at a time when oil prices have lingered below US$50 a barrel.

The world's largest oil explorer by market value is on track to shave its full-year drilling budget by 26 per cent as cash conservation took centre stage amid a stagnant crude market.

"Exxon was weak on the upstream side of the business," said Brian Youngberg, an analyst at Edward Jones & Co in St Louis. The company "continues to struggle to see any production growth on a cons…