Oil rout erodes second-quarter profits for U.S. majors Exxon, Chevron

By Ernest Scheyder HOUSTON (Reuters) - Chevron Corp posted its worst quarterly loss since 2001 on Friday and Exxon Mobil Corp reported a 59 percent slide in quarterly profit, both victims of a prolonged rout in crude prices and sinking income from refining, a sign of the broad malaise across the energy sector. The weak results from two of the world's largest oil producers come as the energy industry is at a crossroads, trying to survive in an era of low prices, which many analysts see as the new