Re Contract

Total S.A.
18 July 2005


          Total signs a Production Sharing Contract for Deep Offshore  
                          Block OPL 223 in Nigeria        

Paris, July 18, 2005 - Total announces that its Nigerian operating subsidiary,
Elf Petroleum Nigeria Ltd. (EPNL), has signed a Production Sharing Contract with
the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the Oil Prospecting
License (OPL) 223 located offshore southeast Nigeria. 

OPL 223 lies in water depths of between 200 and 1,000 metres.  This licence lies
just east of OPL 222 where EPNL, as operator, has made significant commercial
discoveries in the Ukot and Usan fields. Both fields are currently under
consideration for development. 

NNPC is the concession holder on OPL 223 with EPNL as the operator of the permit
holding a 90% stake with the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, a
subsidiary of NNPC, holding a 10% participating interest. 

Exploration activities are planned to start soon with the implementation of a
seismic survey programme. 

The signing of this contract is an additional step that confirms Total's
determined growth strategy in Nigeria and demonstrates its commitment to and
confidence in the country's oil and gas industry's development potential.    


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Total is the fourth largest oil end gas company in the world with operations in 
more then 130 countries. Total's activities cover the whole energy chain of the 
petroleum industry: exploration, oil and gas production, refining and marketing, 
trading and power generation. The Group is also a major player in chemicals. 
Total has more than 111,000 employees worldwide. More information can be found 
on the company's website: www.total.com


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