France's Total (TOTF.PA) pledged to keep up spending to bolster its oil and gas production worldwide as higher crude prices helped the energy group report a 35 percent year-on-year rise in quarterly net income. France's biggest company with a market value of 100 billion euros said it would forge ahead with investments, pegged at $20 billion for this year, as recent events in the Middle East and Japan may herald changes in energy demand and the energy mix. "Growing geopolitical tensions and the aftermath of the earthquake in Japan will shift the balance of the global energy markets," Chairman Christophe de Margerie said in a statement. Total has been active on the merger and acquisition front in recent months in a drive to build up its presence in energy-rich countries such as Russia, Canada, Brazil or Australia.
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