CHICAGO (Bloomberg) - Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest oil company, said fourth-quarter profit rose 14 percent amid the biggest increase in crude prices in the 148-year history of the petroleum industry.

Net income climbed to a record $11.7 billion, or $2.13 a share, from $10.3 billion, or $1.76, a year earlier, the Irving, Texas-based company said on Friday in a statement.

Profit for all of 2007 was $40.6 billion, topping Exxon Mobil's own record for full-year earnings by any US company.

Oil had its biggest yearly increase by dollar amount before surpassing $100 a barrel last month for the first time.

A 50 percent gain in average US futures prices in the fourth quarter made up for contracts with oil-rich nations that cut producers' share of output when crude rallies.

"As long as oil is $90-plus a barrel, you're going to see a lot of money rolling in," said Todd Petzel, who advises pension funds and endowments with $5 billion under management as chief investment officer at Offit Capital Advisors in New York. "Growth in demand globally is expected to rise by two million more barrels a day next year, so while everyone is working hard to increase supplies, they're being outpaced by demand."

Increases in worldwide demand for oil-derived fuels used to run trucks, trains, airplanes and automobiles accelerated to 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter from 1.2 percent in the preceding three months, according to the International Energy Agency.

Fourth-quarter revenue rose 30 percent to $116.6 billion. Per-share profit was 16 cents higher than the average of 16 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Exxon Mobil fell 45 cents to $85.95 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, dropping along with oil and natural- gas futures. The stock rose 22 percent in 2007, outperforming Exxon Mobil's biggest rivals, Europe's Royal Dutch Shell plc. and BP plc.

San Ramon, California-based Chevron Corp., the second- biggest US oil company, today said its fourth-quarter profit rose 29 percent to $4.88 billion, or $2.32 a share, exceeding analyst estimates.

Houston-based ConocoPhillips last week reported a 37 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit to $4.37 billion, a company record. Shell, the world's second-largest oil company, yesterday said its net income rose 60 percent to $8.47 billion.

Oil rose by $35 a barrel in 2007. Prices topped $99 for the first time during the fourth quarter.

Crude output from Exxon Mobil wells fell 6.4 percent to 2.52 million barrels a day, led by declines in South America and Africa. Natural-gas production rose 12 percent to 10.4 billion cubic feet a day, paced by gains in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Profit from oil and gas sales jumped 32 percent to $8.2 billion.

"With the price of oil up as much as it was, it more than offset any declines in production," said Douglas Ober, whose biggest holding is Exxon Mobil among the $1.8 billion he helps manage at Adams Express Co. in Baltimore. "If we see more results like this, I think we're going to see a stirring up in Congress among people who feel these guys are getting away with murder."

Democratic candidates for US president have called for increased taxes on oil companies. Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, on Friday renewed a push for Congress to repeal oil-industry tax breaks.

"Congratulations to Exxon Mobil and Chevron for reminding Americans why they cringe every time they pull into a gas station and for reminding Washington why it needs to act swiftly to break our dependence on foreign oil and roll back unnecessary tax incentives for oil companies," Mr. Schumer said in a statement.

Crude prices are expected to remain above $85 a barrel through 2016, New York futures contracts indicate.

That is about $35 above the minimum price that major oil companies need to continue expanding drilling programs, according to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. analyst James Crandell.

Exxon Mobil, which traces its roots to the 1880s when kerosene began competing with whale oil as household lamp fuel, had a 16 percent gain in refining profit, to $2.3 billion. That was about $1 million an hour.

Earnings from Exxon Mobil's smallest business segment, chemicals, dropped 10 percent to $1.1 billion.

Rex Tillerson, who just finished his second year as CEO, has expanded Exxon Mobil's search for new reserves to Madagascar, New Zealand and the Arctic as decades-old fields in North America and the North Sea near exhaustion.

Exxon Mobil's price-to-book ratio, or share price divided by book value, is 71 percent above the average for its US-based peer group, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Exxon Mobil has a 28 percent return on capital employed, highest among the world's 10 largest oil companies by sales.

Exxon Mobil began pumping crude in October at the Marimba North project off the Angolan coast.

In November, the company won the right to drill wells in Libya's offshore Sirte Basin.