OffshoreBonga field starts up

Total S.A.
28 November 2005

                   Nigeria : Offshore Bonga field starts up


Paris, November 28, 2005 - Total announces the start of crude oil production
from the Bonga deepwater oil and gas field, 120 kilometres offshore Nigeria. The
Bonga field will produce over 200,000 barrels of oil and over 150 million cubic
feet of gas per day once it reaches plateau level.


Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Total, holds a 12.5%
stake along side Partners Shell Nigeria E&P Corporation (the operator of the
field on behalf of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation under a Production
Sharing Contract), Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited and Nigerian
Agip Exploration (Limited).


Located in Oil Prospecting Licence 212, the 60 square kilometre field is
situated in water depths of more than 1,000  metres.  Production facilities
comprise a  Floating  Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel together
with a deepwater subsea infrastructure. The field's initial 16 subsea oil
producing and water injection wells are connected to the two million barrel
storage capacity FPSO by production flowlines, risers and control umbilicals.


Associated gas from Bonga will be piped via the 268 km 32 inch Offshore Gas
Gathering System to the Nigerian liquefaction (NLNG) plant for export to US and
European markets.


Moreover, significant hydrocarbon deposits have been discovered in the area
around Bonga which have led to development studies on the Bonga South West and
Bonga North West projects.

Africa is Total's leading growth region, accounting for production of 813,000
barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2004. Present in Nigeria since 1962,
Total's equity production was 271,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2004.
The Group recently launched the development of the deep offshore Akpo field
which will enter into production late 2008 at a plateau of 225,000 barrels of
oil equivalent per day. Total also holds a 15% partnership interest in the Bonny
gas liquefaction plant.


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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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