Drilling Report

Total S.A.
03 October 2005



       TOTAL MAKES NEW OIL DISCOVERY IN LIBYA'S BLOCK NC 186


Paris - October 3rd 2005 - Total (24%) and partners Repsol YPF (operator), OMV
and Saga have made a new oil discovery in Libya's Block NC 186.  Well l-1,
drilled in the Murzuq Basin 800 kilometers south of Tripoli, reached a total
depth of 1,700 metres and found a significant oil column in the Mamuniyat
sandstone formation.

During production testing the well flowed at a rate up to 2,060 barrels per day
of 40 degrees API oil.  It is the fifth discovery made in this block.

Two of the four discoveries in NC 186 have come on stream over the last two
years with a combined production of 45,000 barrels of oil per day.  The field
development plan for the third discovery has been submitted to the Libyan
National Oil Company for approval, while the field development plan for the
latest discovery is currently under preparation.

Crude oil production in the Murzuq Basin started end 1996 from the adjacent El
Sharara field in block NC 115 which produce around 200,000 barrels per day of
sweet light oil and in which Total holds a 30% stake in the foreign consortium.

The latest discovery strengthens Total's position in Libya, where the Group is
operator of the Al Jurf offshore field (40,000 barrels per day), and of the
Mabruk field (15,000 barrels per day) in the western part of the Sirte Basin. 
In addition, the Group is exploring in the Murzuq and Sirte Basins.


Total is the fourth largest oil and gas company in the world with operations in
more than 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


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