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) 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), 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.

Oil companies around the world have ridden the multiyear energy boom to record levels of profitability. Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) on Thursday posted a $27.6 billion profit in 2007 -- the largest ever profit by a European company.

But their swelling coffers have attracted unwanted attention from politicians, who have characterized the companies as opportunists and suggested taking back lucrative tax breaks.

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Exxon's profit was a sign that the U.S. economy is "out of balance."

"Exxon Mobil posted record profits at 11 billion dollars this quarter alone at a time when families are struggling ... to fill up their gas tanks," he told reporters in Los Angeles.

CHEVRON PROFIT RISES, PRODUCTION OUTLOOK WEAK

Chevron's net income rose to $4.88 billion, or $2.32 a share, from $3.77 billion, or $1.74 a share, last year. Analysts had expected the company to earn $2.30 a share.

Sales in the quarter rose to $59.9 billion from $46.24 billion last year.