Statement re Exhibition

Total S.A.
2 February 2004

              Total to Partner Oil, New Challenges Exhibition 
           at the Cite des Sciences et de l'lndustrie in Paris 
                     February 10 to August 16, 2004


Paris, February 2004 - As part of the Cite des Sciences et de l'lndustrie's
Managing the Planet programme, Total helped to design and support the Oil, New
Challenges exhibition. This second exhibition in the Cite's sustainable
development programme will open on February 10 for six months.

Oil and natural gas are the world's main energy resources, used on a daily
basis, for transportation, heating and lighting, as well as in a multitude of
industrial products derived from refining and chemicals manufacturing processes.
These resources have fuelled the planet's development.

The depletion of easily accessible oil fields means that we now have to go to
remote regions and work under challenging conditions, such as deep offshore,
deep underground and the frozen north.

Today, engineers are developing and using next-generation technologies to bring
these resources on stream while protecting the environment.

People are often unfamiliar with the technological feats involved in the
unending challenge to renew oil and gas reserves.

The exhibition is designed to help the general public, essentially high school
students, understand the issues faced in oil gas exploration and production,
both today and in the future.

The Cite des Sciences et de l'lndustrie, supported by Total, has organized an
exhibition encompassing the earth sciences, the environment, materials behavior
and engineering techniques.

                                          *****


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
through its chemicals branch, Atofina. Total has 121,500 employees worldwide.
More information can be found on the company's website: www.total.com



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