Total Profits Rise 14 Percent

French oil major Total has reported a 14 percent rise in underlying profits, boosted by an increase in oil prices and refining margins .

Net adjusted profits for the last quarter 2007 hit US$4.53bn (€3.11bn), while full year net profit stood at US$16.1bn (€12.2bn), a drop of three percent.

Hydrocarbon production was up 1.5 percent to 2.391 kboe/d in the fourth quarter 2007, and production should show further "significant growth" in 2008, even if the price of oil falls, Total says.

The increase is due to the ramping up of production on the Dalia and Rosa fields in Angola and fields in the Middle East.

Chief executive Christophe de Margerie told a press conference that Total is examining investment projects on the basis of an oil price of US$80 per barrel.

The company is expected to increase its investment by nearly 19 percent this year to US$19bn from US$16bn in 2007.

By Ozge Ibrahim