ExxonMobil, the world’s largest listed oil company, expects its production in 2020 to be roughly the same as last year, as cuts in investment prompted by the low price of crude force the group to abandon its earlier projections of growth. Rex Tillerson, chief executive, also played down speculation that Exxon would be making acquisitions following its $12bn bond sale this week. At Exxon’s annual presentation to analysts, he suggested he had spoken with executives of other companies about possible deals, but had been unable to propose valuations that both sides would find acceptable. Exxon said it expected production in 2020 to be between 4m and 4.2m barrels of oil equivalent per day. That is lower than the projection Exxon set out a year ago, when it expected output would average 4.3m barrels per day in 2017. The 2015 production forecast was based on an oil price of $55 per barrel for internationally traded Brent crude. The new forecast is based on a price of $40 to $80 per barrel.