Chevron’s net income in the period that ended Sept. 30 was “comparable” with second-quarter results, when the company reported a profit of $7.73 billion, exceeding the $3.77 billion earned during the third quarter of 2010. Chevron announced selected third-quarter results in a statement distributed via Business Wire. The company, based in San Ramon, California, is scheduled to release full third-quarter results on Oct. 28.

Chevron sold a U.K. oil refinery and related storage terminals and marketing assets in Ireland to Valero Energy Corp. in August for $1.73 billion as part of Chief Executive Officer John Watson’s effort to shed lower-profit fuel-making units. The company said today that it recorded a $500 million third-quarter gain from the sale.

Chevron’s oil and natural-gas production during July and August fell 5 percent from the full third-quarter of 2010 to the equivalent of 2.6 million barrels a day, the company said. The declines stemmed from a pipeline incident in Thailand and repair work to installations in the Gulf of Mexico, Kazakhstan and the U.K.

A U.K. tax increase on oil and gas production prompted Chevron to take a $150 million “catch-up charge” during the third quarter and will cost an additional $40 million during the current period, according to the statement.

Exxon Mobil Corp. of Irving, Texas, is the largest U.S. oil company by market value.