The worlds largest publicly traded oil company said that it earned just over £3 billion in the first three months of 2004. A year ago, the company banked £3.97bn, including a £281.9 million gain from an accounting change and £958m from the sale of its interest in Germanys Ruhrgas. Without those items, the year-ago profit was £2.7bn. Revenues for the Texas-based company rose to £38bn in the first quarter, up from £35.9bn a year earlier. Production and exploration earnings, excluding one-off items, edged up £11.24m to £2.25bn, reflecting higher yields and strong crude and natural-gas prices. Exxon Mobil said that on an oil-equivalent basis production was at its highest since the first quarter of 2001 and increased about one per cent from last year. Earnings from refining and marketing operations jumped 39 per cent to £562m, while chemical earnings nearly doubled to £317.1m due to stronger margins and favourable foreign-exchange impact. Natural gas production fell to 11.47bn cubic feet a day from 12.05bn cubic feet last year. Lower weather-related demand in Europe and natural field declines in older areas were partly offset by the start-up of an additional liquid natural gas line in Qatar. PIN//Scotsman