Re Joint Venture

Total Fina Elf.
2 December 2002



TotalFinaElf plans to set up a petrochemicals joint venture with Samsung 
                               in South Korea

Paris, December 2, 2002 - TotalFinaElf, via its chemicals branch Atofina, and 
the South Korean company Samsung, will sign Dec. 2 a memorandum of understanding 
with the aim of setting up a 50/50 joint venture in the petrochemicals sector in
South Korea, to which the assets of Samsung General Chemicals will be 
transferred.


The joint venture will produce and market a wide range of base petrochemicals 
and polyolefins from the integrated industrial site of Samsung General Chemicals
at Daesan. This modern and competitive petrochemicals complex will be 
transferred to the joint venture. The petrochemicals facility has an annual 
production capacity of 650,000 tons of ethylene, 670,000 tons of styrene, 
500,000 tons of paraxylene and 670,000 tons of polyolefins and is located on the 
west coast of South Korea, 150 kilometers southwest of Seoul and 400 km from 
China.

This investment will allow Atofina to acquire a major petrochemicals 
manufacturing base in Asia and to aggressively develop its commercial position 
in the region.

The joint venture is consistent with TotalFinaElf's strategy to develop its 
position in high growth regions of the world, notably in petrochemicals, while 
continuing to dynamically manage its chemicals portfolio of assets. This 
strategy should lead to maintaining the amount of capital employed in the 
chemicals segment.

                                      *****

TotalFinaElf is the world's fourth largest oil company in market capitalization 
and posted in 2001 revenues of 105.3 billion euros and net profit of 7.5 billion 
euros. Atofina, the chemicals branch of TotalFinaElf, ranks among the largest 
chemical companies in the world. Revenues for chemicals in 2001 were 19.6 
billion euros, divided among three large sectors: Base chemicals and polymers, 
Intermediates & performance polymers, and Specialties.

Samsung General Chemicals is the polyolefins and base petrochemicals subsidiary 
of Samsung. In 2001, Samsung posted revenues of 98.7 billion US dollars and a 
net profit of 4.5 billion USD. Samsung General Chemicals employs 900 people and 
registered revenues in 2001 of 1.2 billion USD, of which around 45% were posted 
outside South Korea.


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange