UPDATE 4-Exxon, Chevron earnings soar on record oil prices

(Adds analyst comment, background)

By Michael Erman

NEW YORK, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Friday record oil prices propelled its quarterly and yearly profits to the highest-ever levels by a U.S. company.

Chevron Corp (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the second-largest U.S. oil company, also posted an enormous profit in the quarter as crude prices, which reached more than $99 a barrel during the period, outweighed its relatively weak refining profits.

Exxon, the world's largest oil company not run by a state, fourth-quarter net income rose nearly 14 percent to $11.66 billion, or $2.13 a share, from $10.25 billion, or $1.76 a share, in 2006. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $1.98 per share.

"They performed across the board, upstream, downstream, U.S. and foreign," said James Halloran, who helps manage about $35 billion at National City Private Client Group.

Revenue in the quarter rose 30 percent to $116.64 billion. For the year, the company pulled in $404.55 billion, slightly larger than the 2006 gross domestic product of Turkey, the world's 17th largest economy.

The company's full-year earnings of $40.61 billion set a new record for U.S. profits -- beating out its own previous mark for 2006.

U.S. 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. They averaged just over $60 a barrel in the same period a year earlier.