Houston, Nov 1 (IANS): Exxon Mobil, the largest US oil and gas company, reported an 18 percent drop in profit in the third quarter compared to the same period in 2012.

The oil company's third-quarter earnings were $7.87 billion, down $1.7 billion, or 18 percent, year-on-year. But the figure for the third quarter is higher than the $6.9 billion registered in the second quarter, which saw Exxon Mobil's worst profit since early 2010, Xinhua reported.

Exxon Mobil's oil and natural gas production rose as new projects were launched and maintenance-related downtime decreased. Its oil-equivalent production grew 1.5 percent to four million barrels per day.

Meanwhile, the company's downstream earnings were negatively affected by significantly weaker refining margins due to increased industry capacity.

The oil giant estimated its downstream earnings at $592 million, down $2.6 billion from the third quarter of 2012. Weaker margins mainly in refining decreased earnings by $2.4 billion.