Oil and gas output fell to 310,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from 402,000 boe/d a year earlier.

Much of the drop came after Hess sold assets in Russia, the U.K. and Azerbaijan. In the year-earlier quarter, those assets boosted production.

The continuing unrest in Libya also hurt second-quarter production, and Hess said it now expects full-year output to be at the low end of its guidance range of 240,000 to 255,000 boe/d.

Excluding one-time items, Hess earned $1.18 per share in the third quarter. By that measure, analysts expected $1.44 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company posted net income of $420 million, or $1.23 per share, compared with $557 million, or $1.64 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue dropped 23 percent to $2.69 billion. Analysts expected $2.67 billion.

Shares of New York-based Hess fell 2.3 percent to $81.60 in premarket trading. As of Tuesday's close, the stock had gained 58 percent this year.

Activist investor Elliot Management took a large stake in Hess earlier this year and put three new directors on the company's board.