Stmnt re Normandy Refinery

Total Fina Elf.
2 July 2002




      TotalFinaElf pursues its strategy to modernise its Normandy Refinery 
           € 120 M to be invested during September 2002 Main Shutdown


Paris, July 2, 2002 - TotalFinaElf has launched a € 120 M major works programme
at the Normandy Refinery, the Group's largest refinery in France. The programme
will prepare this industrial site for the next stages in its modernisation.

As part of this works programme scheduled for the forthcoming Main Shutdown in
September 2002, some € 80 M will be allocated to modernisation investment and a
further € 40 M to maintenance work.

The modernisation investment is intended primarily to improve the quality of the
production tool, and will fulfil the following objectives:

- Adapting the refining plants to the latest European specifications for low-
  sulphur fuels.

- Increasing further the safety of the plants' operation.

- Minimising the plants' impact on the environment.

Adapting the refining facilities to the 2005 and 2008 latest standards, at a
cost of € 50 M, will involve a distillation plant and a desulphiding plant, both
already in operation, as well as the catalytic cracker and its new gasoline
processing and fractionating plant.

In parallel, major safety investment will be carried out. The Refinery, which
has just automated its bitumen production and loading system, will be replacing
the control system of a distillation plant and transfer it to a blast-proof
control centre protected from toxic risk. A new centralised control system will
also be installed to fulfil the site's energy requirements. Finally, in order to
integrate cogeneration currently under construction in partnership with EDF and
ChevronTexaco, within the refinery's existing plants, a new joint network for
water, steam, fuel and electricity requirements will be put in place.

As regards environmental protection, a flare stack will be fitted with a new,
more efficient combustion device, whilst a silencer will be installed on the
catalytic cracker.

During the Main Shutdown, the Refinery will maintain part of its refining plants
in operation as well as the lubricant activity, one of the largest in Europe
with a 520,000 tpa capacity.

With this investment programme, the Normandy Refinery confirms both its desire
to modernise its production tool into efficient and up-to-date facilities, and
its commitment to the prevention of industrial risks and the protection of the
environment.

Finally, TotalFinaElf is consolidating its position as a major local player, and
demonstrating its industrial dynamism and its contribution to the development of
the Normandy region.  



With a 1,100-strong workforce, the Normandy Refinery is the Group's largest
refinery among its 12 refineries in Europe. Every year, it processes 16 million
tonnes of crude oil, i.e. 1/6th of the French petroleum product market. It
produces almost 200 different products, including ultra high octane unleaded
petrol, aviation fuel, low sulphur diesel oil and heating oil, heavy fuels,
liquid petroleum gas, and bitumen. Also involved in the biofuel sector, the
Refinery produces 59,000 tonnes of ETBE, a green fuel processed from
agricultural ethanol and from iso butylene produced during refining. It also
holds a major place in the international market of Northern Europe and Atlantic
countries.

TotalFinaElf is a major player in the region's economy through its research
centres, petrochemicals and chemicals production sites, fuel distribution
activities, and service stations network, in addition to its refining
operations. 



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