ConocoPhillips said on Wednesday it plans to spend 10 percent less in 2010 as the third-largest U.S. oil and gas company slims down and sharpens its focus in response to volatile energy markets.

Shares of Conoco rose 17 cents off their levels prior to the announcement. But the stock was still down 0.9 percent on the day, weighed down by a drop in U.S. oil prices.

Conoco's 2010 capital expenditure budget of $11.2 billion includes $4.1 billion for North America, down from $5.2 billion budgeted for 2009, as the Houston-based company responds to stubbornly weak conditions in its home market.

About $1.3 billion of the 2010 budget would go toward refining and marketing, Conoco said in a statement.

The capex budget was largely in line with the guidance Conoco gave in October alongside plans to sell off $10 billion in assets over the next few years to improve its financial position.

The company's $12.5 billion 2009 capex budget was down from spending of $20.3 billion in 2008, though that included $5 billion paid for a stake in Australia's Origin Energy .

(Reporting by Braden Reddall in San Francisco, editing by Matthew Lewis)

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