Re Joint Venture

Total S.A.
30 September 2005



                 New Joint Venture between Total and Sinochem 
                for a Service Station Network in Eastern China   
  
Paris - September 30, 2005 - On 29 September, Total signed a second joint
venture agreement with Sinochem, to set up a network of 300 service stations in
the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, in Eastern China, with a global
investment of around $100 million.  This new joint venture (49% Total and 51%
Sinochem) is subject to the approval of the Chinese authorities.

Total and Sinochem have been partners for over 10 years in one of the country's
main refineries, located in Dalian, in Northern China and, since 2004, in a
joint venture to set up a network of 200 service stations in the provinces of
Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Liaoning, also in Northern China.  They are co-
operating again for this new network around Shanghai.  Sinochem is one of the
four Chinese oil companies, specialising in logistics and trading, as well as
chemicals manufacturing and trading.

'This investment builds on our co-operation in refining and marketing with
Sinochem in Northern China', said Thierry Desmarest, Chairman and CEO of Total,
when the agreement was signed in Beijing.  In addition to its interest in the
Dalian refinery and the first joint venture in Northern China, Total is already
active in the downstream sector, with service stations in the province of Hubei,
lubricants sold under the Elf and Total brands, in liquid petroleum gas,
specialty fluids, petrochemicals and specialty chemicals. 


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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

Sinochem Corp. is a large state-owned Chinese enterprise and one of the four
national oil companies. It is also the country's largest fertilizer importer and
phosphate and compound fertilizer producer. To learn more, go to:
www.sinochem.com

Media Relations: 
Total
Paris : Christine de Champeaux, Tel. : [phone] or 
[phone], Fax :[phone]
Beijing: Jean-Louis Petit, General Manager of Total China Tel [phone] 
(ext 701/702) Fax [phone]



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