Statement re Upgrade Program

Total Fina Elf.
8 October 2002


                                                           www.totalfinaelf.com

               €43-Million Upgrade Launched During Donges Refinery 
                            Turnaround Maintenance

Donges, France - October 8, 2002 - TotalFinaElf is launching a €43-million
upgrade program at the Donges facility, the company's second-largest refinery in
France.

Under the program, which will be carried out during a turnaround maintenance
shutdown from October 21 to November 30, close to €21 million will be spent on
upgrading and €22 million on maintenance and service.

Upgrading operations will consist mainly of technical improvements designed to:

•  Make the refinery more flexible to better meet market demand. 
•  Further reduce the facility's environmental impact.

The upgrading will primarily cover the cat cracker, the unit that converts 
heavy fractions into light products. In addition, work will be carried out to
reduce heavy fuel oil production and a scrubber will be installed to
significantly reduce atmospheric emissions. The alkylation unit, which produces
the feedstock used for unleaded gasoline, will be modified to reduce liquefied
gas imports by the refinery and improve operating safety. Work will also be
carried out on other units to ensure they comply with the new European Union
sulfur content standards, which come into force in 2005, and on flaring to
ensure more efficient combustion.

The refinery's prevention-based organization and logistics will ensure the
safety of the 1,400 workers during shutdowns. The company is submitting a
detailed safety plan to all contractors, while ongoing surveillance and
inspection will be performed to ensure that site procedures and rules are
applied.

Effective October 20, the public can obtain information by calling a toll-free 
number in France:
                                 0800 243 444

During the shutdown, half the refinery's facilities will remain in operation to 
ensure its markets are supplied.



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