The company followed other oil majors in announcing a strong set of results for the fourth quarter of 2018. Overall oil and gas production for the whole of 2018 climbed by 8.1% from a year earlier to 2.775 million b/d of oil equivalent, a record high, Total said Thursday.

Total expects ramped-up output from Kaombo North in Angola, Egina in Nigeria and the Ichthys field off northwest Australia to boost its production by a further 9% this year. The company also highlighted the start-up of Iara 1 in Brazil, Kaombo South in Angola, Culzean in the UK and Johan Sverdrup in Norway as supporting production growth in 2019.

"Determined to take advantage of the favorable cost environment, the group plans to launch projects in 2019, notably including Mero 2 in Brazil, Tilgenga and Kingfisher in Uganda and Arctic LNG 2 in Russia," Total said.

The statement makes no mention of the Preowei discovery in Nigeria, with 200 million barrels in reserves, the development of which Total had previously said it was expecting to approve this year.

The company previously said its intention is to keep annual production growth above 5% for the years 2017-2022.

Overall hydrocarbon production reached 2.876 million boe/d in Q4, up by 10% from the same period a year earlier. Oil production climbed by 13% to 1.371 million b/d, while gas rose by 7% to 1.505 million boe/d.

Refinery throughput advanced by 2% to 1.886 million b/d in Q4 from a year earlier, with a decline in French refinery throughput offset by moderate growth in the rest of Europe and a sharper climb in the rest of the world. Total reported a 28% rise in full-year profit to $13.6 billion in 2018.

-- Jack Jordan, jack.jordan@spglobal.com

-- Edited by Elizabeth Thang, newsdesk@spglobal.com