Profits at two of the biggest oil firms, Exxon Mobil and Chevron, have dropped sharply, hit by the falling price of crude.Exxon Mobil saw its profit fall 59% for the April to June period to $1.7bn (£1.3bn) from $4bn in the second quarter last year. Meanwhile its rival Chevron posted its largest quarterly loss since 2001. It reported a loss of $1.5bn in the second quarter compared with a $571m profit last year. However, that is in line with analyst expectations. Chevron’s shares fell 2.3% while Exxon’s shares were down 2.9%.The price of Brent crude is down 16% from its 2016 high and 70% from its all-time high in 2014. On Friday Brent crude dropped 1.3% to $42.66 a barrel, while US crude fell 1% to $40.73 per barrel.The energy industry has been trying to cope with a new status quo of low oil prices and slowing demand. They are having to reconsider expansion plans and production levels. Exxon has cut its spending plans by 38% but that was not enough to offset the dip in the price of crude oil.‘Volatile industry’The world’s biggest oil firm also cut its oil production by 0.6% in the quarter to approximately 3.9 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. ‘While our financial results reflect a volatile industry environment, ExxonMobil remains focused on business fundamentals, cost discipline and advancing selective new investments across the value chain to extend our competitive advantage,’ said Rex Tillerson, Exxon`s chief executive officer.Even Exxon’s refining unit, which in the past has helped insulate the company from serious downturns in the market, fell 60% as stockpiles have risen and demand has fallen.Meanwhile, Chevron cut its oil production by 3% to 2.53 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Its oil and gas production unit saw a loss of $2.5bn. Chrevon’s chief executive John Watson said the results ‘reflected lower oil prices and our ongoing adjustment to a lower oil price world.’The company is looking to natural gas operations in China, Austria and Angola to help boost cash flow in the coming quarters.