New Exploration Permits

Total Fina Elf.
17 April 2000

Norway: TotalFinaElf Granted Significant Interests In Four New Offshore
Exploration Permits, Including One Operatorship


Paris, April 17, 2000 - TotalFinaElf announced today that, as part of Norway's
16th Offshore licensing round, it has been granted significant interests in four
offshore permits at water depths of 300 to 1,800 meters.

TotalFinaElf has been named operator with a 25% interest on the PL 258 permit
(Raan Ridge). Located in the Voring basin. An initial 3D seismic survey is to be
conducted to assess the potential of this exploration permit.

On the PL 255 permit, located in the Haltenbanken region, TotalFinaElf has been
granted a 20% interest alongside Shell, operator. The Group is already strongly
positioned in this region, where major oil and gas discoveries have been made.
It holds interest in several permits, including the Asgard field, which started
production in May 1999 with recoverable reserves of 2 billion barrels oil
equivalent. 

On permit PL 254 (Ringhorne), located in the southern Voring Basin, TotalFinaElf
has been granted 20% interest alongside BP Amoco, operator. This permit gives
the Group access to a highly promising region, where a gas discovery has been
made in 1997 on Ormen Lange.

In addition, the Group has received an interest in a fourth permit, PL 251, in
the More basin. It has 20% interest in this permit, alongside Statoil, operator.

These major new interests significantly strengthen TotalFinaElf's presence in
Norway, where the Group is a leading oil and gas producer with an output of
approximately 325,000 barrels oil equivalent per day. Northern Europe,
specifically Norway, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, represented in 1999
roughly one third of TotalFinaElf's worldwide oil and gas production, with an
output of 675,000 boe/d.

Contact: Catherine Enck - Eve Gautier-Toux - Fabien Ghez
Tel: [phone] - Fax: [phone]