Aug 7 (Reuters) - U.S. oil and gas firm Marathon Oil ( MRO )

missed Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit

on Wednesday, hurt by a fall in natural gas prices.

U.S. gas prices dropped as mild weather pressured demand and

on a rise in stored volumes due to inadequate pipeline capacity.

Marathon Oil ( MRO ) said its average realized price for natural gas

in the U.S. declined 24.9% to $1.42 per thousand cubic feet

(mcf).

A fall in natural gas prices also led to an earnings miss at

rival Coterra Energy ( CTRA ) last week.

Shares of Marathon Oil ( MRO ), which had agreed to sell itself to

ConocoPhillips ( COP ) for $22.5 billion in May, fell 1.7% after

the bell.

The company said its total quarterly production declined to

393,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), compared with

399,000 boepd produced a year earlier, due to a fall in natural

gas and liquids output.

"Total company oil and oil-equivalent production are

expected to peak during the third quarter, with oil production

rising to approximately 200,000 net bpd, before moderating into

the fourth quarter," the company said.

Marathon Oil ( MRO ) posted adjusted earnings of 63 cents per share

for the three months ended June 30, compared with analysts'

average estimate of 69 cents per share, according to LSEG data.