French oil giant Total has reported a 62% rise in profits for the last three months of 2007 as record oil prices and new production plants boosted business.
Net profit hit 3.6bn euros (Ј2.6bn; $5.2bn) in the period, when oil was mainly priced between $90 and $100 a barrel - 50% more than a year earlier.
Total said that 2007 market conditions had been "generally favourable".
The results came as the International Energy Agency revised down its predictions for oil demand in 2008.
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Total, which also said new operations in Angola and Qatar had helped to lift profits, is the latest oil giant to announce massive profit growth.
Exxon posted a net profit of $11.7bn in the last three months of 2007, while Royal Dutch Shell saw its profits rise 60% in the period.
Oil was trading at just under $93 a barrel by mid-morning on Wednesday as an expected rise in US crude inventories offset concerns over Venezuela halting supply to Exxon Mobil
US light sweet crude was 15 cents lower at $92.63 a barrel while London Brent crude slipped by 3 cents to $92.83.
(BBC)
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