Re Agreement

Total Fina Elf.
24 December 2001


 
    The Dolphin Project: signature of a production sharing agreement

 
Paris, December 24, 2001 - The Qatari authorities have signed with
TotalFinaElf and United Arab Emirates Offsets Group (UOG) a production
sharing agreement defining the terms governing the production of natural gas
to be exported to the United Arab Emirates and Oman under the framework of
the Dolphin project. 

The partners in the project, TotalFinaElf (24.5%) and UOG (75.5%), are
grouped together in the company Dolphin Energy Limited (DEL). 

The Dolphin project involves the development of the natural gas reserves in
two blocks of Qatar's giant offshore North Field, via two unmanned platforms.
Production is expected to plateau at a rate of 2.5 billion cubic feet of gas
per day. The gas will be treated onshore at the Ras Laffan terminal (Qatar).
From there, a 48-inch, 380-kilometre pipeline will transport the gas to the
United Arab Emirates serving the markets of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Fujairah. 

Dolphin Energy Limited, which benefits from the technical know-how and
experience of TotalFinaElf, is the operator of the upstream phase of the
project, responsible for development operations and production start-up. The
company is also responsible for the construction and operation of the
pipeline linking Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. 

The total investment cost for the project is around $3.5 billion. 


This agreement, which covers a period of 30 years, marks an essential step in
the realisation of the Dolphin project, contributing to the development of
the largest gas project ever realised between two countries in the Gulf.