Start-up of Matterhorn Field

Total S.A.
12 November 2003


                    U.S. Gulf of Mexico: Start-up of Matterhorn

Paris, November 12, 2003 - Total announces the start-up of the Matterhorn field
in Mississippi Canyon Block 243 in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

The field, wholly owned and operated by Total E&P USA Inc., is located
approximately 160 kilometers southeast of New Orleans in a water depth of 850
meters.

Matterhorn, discovered in 1999, was developed with a floating structure called a
Tension Leg Platform, comprising the wellheads and the separation and treatment
installations. The platform has throughput capacity of 33,000 barrels of oil per
day and 55 million cubic feet per day. Production is transported to shore
through flowlines connected to the existing pipeline network.

Following Virgo and Aconcagua, Matterhorn is the third field operated by Total
E&P USA Inc. in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The Matterhorn field is in
line with Total's strategy of increasing production in the deepwater U.S. Gulf
of Mexico where the company has been awarded 21 new exploration blocks in 2003.


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Total is the fourth largest oil and gas company in the world with operations in
more than 120 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
through its chemicals branch, Atofina. Total has 121,000 employees worldwide.
More information can be found on the company's website: www.total.com


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