Drilling Report

Total S.A.
23 May 2005



Norway: Discovery of hydrocarbons on the Onyx SW prospect

Paris, May 23, 2005 - Total announces a gas discovery on the licence PL255, in
the Haltenbanken area of the Norwegian Sea some 150 kilometres from the coast in
water depths of approximately 300 metres. Total holds a 20% in the licence
beside partners Shell (operator), Statoil and Petoro.

The 6406/9-1 exploration well drilled on the Onyx SW prospect attained a total
depth of 5,052 metres below sea level. Condensates were encountered in several
levels of the Jurassic layer and two tests made with a maximum debit of 1.4
million cubic meters of gas per day with a 48/64 inch choke.


A complementary appreciation well will be drilled in the coming months to
further establish the precise size of the discovery. Other prospects have been
identified on this license and will be studied.  

This discovery reinforces Total's position in Norway where the Group presently
produces around 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. In the years to come,
Total will grow production thanks to the achievement of 'Great Ekofisk' project
and the start-up of the liquefied natural gas project Snohvit.

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



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