NEW YORK – The major oil companies continue to climb back from the recession, with higher fuel prices driving up earnings.

After setting record profits in 2008, the oil industry tanked last year as the global economic downturn induced a dramatic drop in oil and natural gas prices.

But Thursday, Exxon Mobil Corp. said it earned $7.56 billion in the second quarter, its best result since the last three months of 2008. Royal Dutch Shell Group posted a 15 percent gain in net income. A day earlier, ConocoPhillips said net income nearly tripled in the April-June period.

Chevron Corp. reports its quarterly results today.The jump in profits comes as oil companies wait out a ban on deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico that is scheduled to last until Nov. 30. Shell took a $56 million charge for idling its rigs while Exxon halted work on an appraisal well and suspended operations at one of its Gulf platforms.

But their operations are so vast that the effect is likely to be minimal. And both remain committed to drilling in deep water around the globe, including the Gulf. Exxon continues to explore the deep waters off Indonesia and the Philippines.

“Slight delay in the Gulf, but we’re proceeding full speed ahead in the rest of the world,” Exxon Mobil Vice President David Rosenthal said in a conference call with investors.

Shell said it plans to wait out America’s six-month ban on exploratory drilling.

“We are just trying to keep the rigs warm, ready to start up again,” Shell Chief financial officer Simon Henry said.

For BP, of course, the Gulf is paramount at the moment. It will be paying for years for the oil spill set off in April when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank. The British oil company took a charge of $32.2 billion to cover the costs that it can reliably estimate at this time. On Tuesday, it reported a record quarterly loss of $17 billion.

BP, however, remains committed to deep-water projects. The company plans to begin drilling a deep-water well off the coast of Libya in coming weeks.

Argus Research analyst Phil Weiss said Exxon, BP and Shell have no choice but to keep exploring the deep sea. Most of the world’s oil reserves are in the hands of state-owned companies, he said.

“Deep water is one of the few places where they can grow.”

For its second quarter, Exxon’s net income nearly doubled as oil prices rose to an average of $78.16 a barrel from $59.80. Revenue increased 24 percent to $92.5 billion. The company boosted oil and natural gas production by 8 percent.