ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) said on March 2 it would continue to cut spending as long as crude prices remain low, but the world's largest publicly traded oil company added it could use potential acquisitions in a bid to offset a dip in production.

ExxonMobil, which has a AAA credit rating, tapped the debt market this week with a $12 billion deal that has led analysts to speculate that the oil major could be gearing up for an acquisition spree.

"We have the financial flexibility to pursue attractive opportunities and can adjust our investment program based on market demand fundamentals," CEO Rex Tillerson said in a statement as he and other company executives met with analysts in New York.

Texas-based ExxonMobil expects its capital spending, which has been falling since hitting a peak of $42.5 billion in 2013, to drop next year from the $23.2 billion it now plans to spend this year. It spent $31.1 billion in 2015.

Early last year, the company said its average annual spending for the next several years would be around $34 billion.

The company also said on March 2 that it is on track to start up 10 new oil and gas projects through the end of next year, which would add 450,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (Mboe/d) to its production capacity.

But it expects long-term production of between 4 MMboe/d and 4.2 MMboe/d through 2020, compared with 4.25 MMboe/d in the last quarter of 2015. That outlook is based on a Brent oil price of $40/bbl to $80/bbl, ExxonMobil said. Brent oil currently trades at just under $37/bbl.

Oil prices have fallen some 70% since mid-2014, prompting major companies to slash budgets for expensive projects designed to bring hard-to-find new discoveries online.

The company's oil and gas production rose 3.2% in 2015, as the company's downstream refining unit provided some insulation against the impact of falling oil prices on its upstream E&P unit.