The Wall Street Journal-20080214-Total SA Net Rose 62- on Oil Prices- Output

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Total SA Net Rose 62% on Oil Prices, Output

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PARIS -- French oil company Total SA said net profit rose 62% in its most recent quarter, helped by rising production and higher oil prices, and announced a $2.2 billion investment to expand its Texas refinery.

Total, one of the world's largest nonstate-owned oil companies by market value, said net profit rose to 3.6 billion euros ($5.3 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2007 from 2.23 billion euros a year earlier. Revenue rose 19% to 43.19 billion euros.

Total said that despite resurgence in "resource nationalism" -- meaning oil-rich countries' wanting a bigger share of the oil windfall -- it has enough projects under development to increase oil and gas output by an average of 4% a year between 2006 and 2010.

Total's upstream production rose to 2.46 million barrels of oil equivalent a day in the fourth quarter, an increase of 2.4% from a year earlier. Hydrocarbon production in 2007 was up 1.5% on 2006 to 2.39 million barrels of oil equivalent a day.

The increase in output contrasted sharply with figures released by Total's oil-industry rivals over the past few weeks. BP PLC, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. all said their production fell in 2007.

Total Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie said the company continues to study nuclear projects but that it would take several years before the strategy bears fruit. He also said Total wouldn't pull out of refining, as he announced the upgrade of the group's Port Arthur, Texas, refinery.