Chevron profit jumps as refining offsets production dip

(Reuters) - Chevron Corp posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday as lower crude prices boosted its refinery operations, helping to offset sagging oil and gas production. The company posted third-quarter net income of $5.59 billion, or $2.95 per share, compared with $4.95 billion, or $2.57 per share, a year earlier. Analysts on average expected earnings of $2.55 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Production fell nearly 1 percent to 2.57 million barrels of oil equivalent per day as new wells failed to offset declines at old ones. The company's downstream unit, which owns refineries throughout the world, posted a nearly fourfold jump in profit to $1.39 billion as the cheaper crude oil prices boosted margins. Shares of Chevron rose 1.4 percent to $118.20 in premarket trading. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)