UPDATE 1-Murphy Oil profits more than double on record oil

(Adds analyst estimates and segment earnings)

NEW YORK Jan 30 (Reuters) - Murphy Oil Corp (MUR.N) said on Wednesday its fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled as oil prices soared to record levels.

The company also said it expects first-quarter profits to be much better than analysts had expected.

Net income in the quarter rose to $206.1 million, or $1.07 a share, from $88.4 million, or 47 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

Excluding one-time items, Murphy said it earned about $1.28 a share in the quarter. Analysts, on average, had forecast earnings of $1.20 a share.

Oil prices averaged more than $90 a barrel during the quarter and nearly hit $100 due to tight supplies, geopolitical risks and the weak dollar. In the same period of 2006, oil prices averaged just over $60 a barrel.

El Dorado, Arkansas-based Murphy said profits from its exploration and production business nearly tripled to $268.2 million on higher oil and natural gas prices as well as better sales volumes.

Production in the quarter rose 36 percent to 113,341 barrels per day, mostly due to oil from its Kikeh project in Malaysia, which started up in the third quarter.

The company's refining and marketing operations lost $27.4 million in the quarter, compared with a year-earlier profit of $29.3 million.

Refiners have struggled with relatively weak margins of late as gasoline prices have lagged soaring crude oil prices.

Murphy also expects first-quarter earnings to be in the range of $1.80 to $2 per share. Analysts, on average, had forecast earnings of $1.36 a share for the quarter.

Murphy shares closed up 2.5 percent at $75.23 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday. (Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Andre Grenon, Gary Hill)