Total and CNOOC Strengthen Their Partnership and Sign an Agreement to Supply LNG...

Total and CNOOC Strengthen Their Partnership and Sign an Agreement to Supply LNG to China

PARIS--(Business Wire)--
Regulatory News:

Total (Paris:FP) (LSE:TTA) (NYSE:TOT) announces today that it has
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with one of China's major
oil & gas companies China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).
CNOOC Group President, Fu Chengyu, and Total Chief Executive Officer,
Christophe de Margerie, signed the MOU on behalf of the two companies
respectively. The aim of the two companies is to enhance wide-ranging
cooperation in the areas of upstream, downstream and in the field of
new energies.

As a first concrete application of the MOU, Total Gas and Power
Limited (TGP) and CNOOC Corp. signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) for
the sale of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) by Total to CNOOC. Fu Chengyu
and Christophe de Margerie witnessed the signing of the HOA between
CNOOC Gas and Power Group President, Wang Jiaxiang, and Total Gas &
Power President, Philippe Boisseau.

Under the terms of this agreement, up to 1 million tons of LNG
will be delivered annually to the Chinese oil group starting in 2010.
The gas will be sourced from Total's global LNG portfolio, based on
its participation in over 10 liquefaction projects worldwide, and on
TGP's trading activities.

The MOU will be one of the foundations for Total and CNOOC to
explore further cooperation, in line with China's priorities of energy
security and sustainable development, by providing increased access to
clean sources of energy, also a priority for Total. The HOA
illustrates the confidence both parties have in the future of the
Chinese natural gas industry. LNG imports will be decisive to secure
its rapid growth, particularly in the coastal areas of China.

Total is pleased to further enhance its cooperation with CNOOC
both inside China and abroad. CNOOC already has a 45% stake in the
Akpo project in Nigeria, operated by Total. This is in line with
Total's strategy of establishing partnerships with national oil
companies both inside and outside of their respective countries.

Total in China

As the first international oil & gas company to undertake offshore
exploration and to produce offshore oil in China in the 1980s, Total
has been present in the country for about 30 years through its
activities of exploration and production, gas, refining and marketing,
and chemicals.

In March 2006, Total and CNPC entered into a production-sharing
contract for the evaluation, development and production of natural gas
in Sulige South. Total has been a partner for over 10 years (22.4%
stake) with Sinochem and PetroChina in WEPEC - the first sino-foreign
oil refining joint-venture in China. WEPEC has a current annual
refining capacity of 10 Million Tons (MT) and has a new 1.5 MT/year
distillate hydrocracker (DHC) since the end of 2007. Total continues
to develop its retail networks through its two joint-ventures with
Sinochem, with the aim of building and operating 500 stations in
northern and eastern China.

Total and LNG

Total has entered into agreements to obtain long-term access to
LNG regasification capacity on the three continents that are the
largest consumers of natural gas: North America (United States and
Mexico), Europe (France and the UK) and Asia (India), and is studying
a plan for a regasification terminal in Croatia. This diversified
access to markets allows Total to develop new liquefaction projects,
in particular in the Middle East and Africa, while strengthening its
own LNG supply portfolio. In recent months, the Group has acquired
stakes in the Brass LNG project in Nigeria, in the Ichthys LNG project
in Australia and in the Qatargas 2 project in Qatar and signed a
cooperation agreement with Gazprom to study the development of the
first phase of the Shtokman field.

Total is one of the world's major oil and gas groups, with
activities in more than 130 countries. Its 96,000 employees put their
expertise to work in every part of the industry - exploration and
production of oil and natural gas, refining and marketing, gas trading
and electricity. Total is working to keep the world supplied with
energy, both today and tomorrow. The Group is also a first rank player
in chemicals. www.total.com

TOTAL S.A.

Capital 6 001 006 208 euros

542 051 180 R.C.S. Nanterre

Jérôme SCHMITT
Philippe HERGAUX
Sandrine SABOUREAU
Laurent KETTENMEYER
Tel. : 33 (1) 47 44 58 53
Fax : 33 (1) 47 44 58 24
or
Robert HAMMOND (U.S.)
Tel. : (1) 201 626 3500
Fax : (1) 201 626 4004

Copyright Business Wire 2008