From hydrocarbons to polymers

ContentsTotal Petrochemicals: an integrated worldwide petrochemical company 5

Ongoing development and innovation 10

A global strategy of integration and expansion 10

Research that serves the needs of customers and future generations 14

Products that ensure well-being and progress 18

Four main product categories 18

Partners rather than mere customers 22

The key to sustainable development 24

International, multicultural and empowered teams 24

A culture of industrial safety 25

Enhanced social responsibility 26

Environmental commitment at each stage of the product’s life 28

Joint action with all other chemical industry players 29

Total worldwide 30

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Profile Total Petrochemicals: an integratedworldwide petrochemical company

Since October 2004, Total Petrochemicals,the world’s fifth largest petrochemicalcompany, has brought together TotalGroup’s entire petrochemical activities. With a turnover of 11.4 billion euros in 2005,Total Petrochemicals has all theindependence required to successfully facethe competition in world markets. As anintegral part of Total Group, it benefits fromstrong synergies with its refining activities,particularly in Europe and the United States,as well as with its exploration and production

activity, notably in the Middle East, where it is establishing itself as a major producer ofethane-based ethylene. These representmajor competitive advantages.

With 17 industrial installations, 3 researchcentres, a technical pole and around thirtysales offices, Total Petrochemicals’ presenceis worldwide. Its head office is in Brussels.

A structure within Total Group

• 5th largest petrochemical company in the world

• 4th largest for polypropylene

• 2nd largest for polystyrene

• 3rd largest for propylene

(source : PTM 05Q2 & company data)

• 11.4 billion € turnover in 2005

• Over 7,000 employees. Presence in France (35%), Belgium (22%),

the United States (26%), Asia and the Middle East (13%)

• 17 industrial sites across the world, 3 research centres

and 1 technical pole

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Total Petrochemicals helps promote the Group’s hydrocarbons: natural gasextracted in the Middle East and productsmanufactured by European and Americanrefineries, such as naphtha, butane ordistillates. Its activities are centred on two types of complementary products:

• base chemical products: olefins (ethylene, propylene), C4 cuts andaromatics (benzene, toluene, xylenes)styrene, produced by refinery steamcracking plants or conversion units;

• and mass consumption polymers derived from base chemicals: polyethylene,polypropylene, polystyrene, elastomers*.Sold to plastic material processors, theyare used to produce a wide range ofindustrial and household products.

Most of these sites are close to largerefineries in two of the world’s leading oil and petrochemical regions: on the one hand Texas and Louisiana, where 80% of the American petrochemical industry is concentrated, and on the other theAntwerp-Rotterdam region, where 50% of the European petrochemical industry is based. In France, Total Petrochemicalsoperates two major sites that are integralparts of oil and petrochemical complexes: in Gonfreville, Normandy, and Carling,Lorraine. As for Asia and the Middle East, the company’s industrial sites have strongpotential for growth thanks to joint venturesin Qatar and South Korea.

A mission: promoting hydrocarbons and creating new polymers

* Total Petrochemicals announced on 5th July 2006 its intention

to end elastomer production.

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The teams in the company’s three researchcentres in Belgium, France and the USA, and its technical pole in Lyon (France) workon improving the reliability of its installationsand products, cutting production costs anddeveloping new polymers.

Across the world, the company’s 7,000employees perform their duties with the dual responsibility of ensuring the safety of local residents, consumers and partners,and limiting the environmental impact of itsindustrial activities and products.

A commitment to innovation and sustainable development

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Production sites

Research centres

Technical centre, Lyon

Commercial offices

Total Petrochemicals: a world-class player

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North AmericaBayport, Texas, USACarville, Louisiana, USA La Porte, Texas, USAPort Arthur, Texas, USA

EuropeAntwerp, BelgiumFeluy, BelgiumEl Prat del Llobregat, SpainCarling-Saint-Avold, FranceFeyzin, France Gonfreville, FranceLavéra, France Notre-Dame de Gravenchon,FranceStalybridge, United Kingdom

Asia/Middle EastDaesan, South KoreaFoshan, ChinaMessaied, Qatar

Production sites:

Total Petrochemicals has everything it takes to establishitself as one of the best performing operators in theglobal petrochemical industry. Its dynamism relies on a strategy of geographical expansion and substantialresearch, development and innovation activities.

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Ongoing development and innovation

In order to carry on growing in highly competitive and ever-changing markets,

Total Petrochemicals is developing synergies with the Group’s refining facilities,

strengthening its positions in Asia and the Middle East and consolidating its

growth and competitiveness in Europe and the United States.

A global strategy of integration and expansion

Making the best use of synergies with refining

As a Total Group company, TotalPetrochemicals benefits from majorsynergies with refining activities particularly in Europe and the United States. In Europe,Total Petrochemicals accounts for 10% ofTotal’s refining output and it buys 65% of thefeedstock charges for its steam-crackersfrom refining. Since 1997, the Group’srefineries have doubled their supply ofnaphtha to petrochemicals, from 2.5 million to 4 million tonnes.

Trade of feedstock and products between the two activities exist for a longtime and have developed substantially these last years, because of the constraintsimposed by new and increasingly strict fuelspecifications. Synergies currently extend to energy exchanges (steam, hydrogen, fuel oil, etc.) and to the sharing of industrialfacilities for electricity generation,maintenance and storage. There is anongoing process of real structural integrationbetween the two activities which, given that it begins upstream, at the point wheninvestments are made, allows marketdevelopments to be anticipated andcompetitiveness to be increased.

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“Synergies only make sense if they improve performance in terms of reliability, safety, environment, technology and costs. The refinery in Normandy and our plant in Gonfreville have been built according to this principle of complementary relations, and the modernisation of the refinery integrates the Gonfreville plant. Our development of tools and technologies, and our use of different forms of energy, allow us constantly to envisage new forms of complementary relations and challenge our practices. Energy complementarity is one of the routes that need to be explored. We are thus thinking about exchanging steam, gas and hydrogen between our installations. Synergies are in a process of constant renewal.”

Gérard Roussel, General Manager of the Gonfreville site in France

The Qapco site in Messaied, Qatar

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Developing through partnerships in the Middle East and Asia

In order to increase its presence in the rapidly growing markets of Asia, Total Petrochemicalsis consolidating its positions in the Middle East, where, thanks to the Group’s exploration and production activities, it has privileged access to competitive feedstock, particularlyin the gas chain in Qatar.

Qatar, a stepping-stone to conqueringAsian markets

Involved in the petrochemical industry inQatar since the 1970s, Total Petrochemicalshas a 20% share in Qapco, a company thatoperates an ethane cracker in Messaied, inthe south of the country, with an annualcapacity of 525,000 tonnes, which will beincreased to 720,000 tonnes by the end of 2006, and two low-density polyethyleneunits producing 400,000 tonnes a year.

Total Petrochemicals also has a 49% stake in the Qatofin joint venture, which in 2002undertook to build a new ethane cracker,with an annual capacity of 1.3 million tonnes,in Ras Laffan, in northern Qatar. From autumn2008, when it is started up, the cracker,which will be the biggest in its class, will use a pipeline to feed downstream units inMessaied, including Qatofin’s new 450,000tonnes a year linear polyethylene (LLDPE)unit, currently under construction close toQapco’s existing polyethylene (LDPE) units.Total Petrochemicals has invested around500 million dollars in this project.

Korea, a bridgehead into the Chinese market

As a result of the joint venture created in2003 on an equal footing with Samsung inSouth Korea, aimed at jointly operating thevast integrated complex at Daesan, TotalPetrochemicals has a strong position in theKorean market that creates excellentconditions for it to enter the Chinese market.The Dasean complex, where thirteen unitsproduce a wide range of olefins andpolyolefins (polyethylene and polypropylene)and basic petrochemical compounds,exports about a third of its polymerproduction and half of its styrene productionto China, notably feeding the Chinese plant in Foshan, where 80,000 tonnes ofpolystyrene are produced every year. The rest of its exports go to Japan and South East Asia.

In order to bring the site up to its maximum potential, and following a recentdebottlenecking of the aromatics complex,the two partners have jointly decided toinvest around 600 million dollars to increasethe capacity of the steam cracking plant and styrene unit by 2008 and to build a new polypropylene line.

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Greater competitiveness in Europe and the United States

In the United States and Europe, which are now mature and highly competitive markets, Total Petrochemicals is focusing on adapting its industrial facilities and designing products that are more reliable as well as safer and cheaper.

“Technical feasibility and financial profitability are not

enough to guarantee the success of an industrial

project in China. Being aware of the country’s

culture and knowing how to work with the level

of skills and the specific nature of the regulations

are also decisive factors. For example, a foreign

company is not allowed to own over 50% of

a petrochemical project. Agreements with

local partners are therefore essential.

We currently have 250 employees working

in China. We produce polystyrene in Foshan,

Guangdong, and are developing a further

two projects in the country at the moment.”

Marcel Liu, Project Development Manager, Beijing, China

China

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In the company’s three research centres, two of them located close to

a production site, and at its technical pole in Lyon, 700 Total Petrochemicals

researchers work as a network on the three technological components

of polymers: catalysis, processes, products. They contribute to the

competitiveness of the products and to the sustainable development policy.

Research that serves the needs ofcustomers and future generations

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Thanks to its sustained research anddevelopment activity, Total Petrochemicalsis helping its customers to stand out in their respective markets with more reliable,tailored and economical products. The outcome of this research, which isconducted in partnership with customers,with a view to ensuring optimum use of their products, is the development of new applications.

In the polypropylene family, over 20% of sales are related to recent products. These innovations benefit all market players: convertors, packaging companies,distributors and consumers. They offer long-lasting advantages which meet the need forenvironmental protection right from the initialstages of design.

New processes for new markets

As well as designing and improving products,Total Petrochemicals’ researchers arededicated to creating innovative newprocesses which, like metallocene catalysisand bimodal polyethylene, fulfil the specificrequirement of customers, who use them to gain a competitive advantage in themarket. These processes allow plastics to be produced which not only haveimproved properties but are also lighter and less voluminous than traditional resin-based products.

Sources of progress for society

Transparency, rigidity, texture, weight,storage life, viscosity, adhesion, pliability,elasticity: by improving plastics anddiversifying their uses, Total Petrochemicals’researchers are contributing to daily well-being. Whether through the development of plastic bottles that are as clear as glass,car bumpers as light as they are strong, roadsurfaces that are safe as well as comfortable,all the company’s activities contribute tothis movement.

Added value R&D for customer competitiveness

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Optimising the impact of products

Total Petrochemical’s concern for theenvironmental consequences of its activitiesbegins at the research stage. Its principalaims are to improve manufacturingprocesses and products, to use renewablenatural resources, such as agriculturalmaterial, and to design lighter products.Energy savings in the use of cars arethus partly the result of vehicles beingmade lighter by the use of innovative plastic materials for the manufacture of parts like bumpers and petrol tanks.

Managing the impact of waste

End-of-life product management is a majorchallenge for the petrochemical industry.

Facilitating recycling by means of collectingand cleaning, developing incineration,biodegradability and the extraction ofchemicals by depolymerisation: everythingthat has an impact on the end of product lifeis a challenge for Total Petrochemicals’researchers, who strive to achieve a balancebetween respect for the environment andeconomic imperatives.

Integrated research

• 3 R&D centres: Feluy (Belgium), Mont/Lacq (France)

and La Porte (United States).

• 1 technical pole in Lyon (France).

• 700 researchers.

• 50% of polymer grades created or modified in the past five years.

Samyn & associates©

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“As part of the work done to strengthen our competitiveness,

our researchers have three roles: to improve the reliability of

installations, to reduce production costs and to develop new

products. On this last point, Total Petrochemicals is the source

of major technological innovations in the fields of catalysis and

processes which have allowed it to become a world leader

in some of the highest added value product segments. An

example of these is the new generation of polymerisation

catalysts called metallocenes, which can produce new

polyolefins with unique properties. Another example is the

bimodal PE resins with vastly improved properties, created

using a process developed entirely within Total Petrochemicals.

Yet another example is the polypropylene bottles recently

developed by our research laboratories, which are crystal

clear but only half as heavy as glass. Our researchers are

also forging the future by working on more long-term projects.

One of their challenges is to allow Total Petrochemicals to

become a major player in future technological revolutions.

Another one of their concerns is to consider the end-of-life

of our products, particularly by ensuring the accelerated

biodegradability of plastic materials.”

Guy Debras, Polyolefins Research Manager – Total Petrochemicals Research Feluy, Belgium

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Total Petrochemicals develops the materials andprocesses with which its customers manufactureinnumerable products and objects that are essential for well-being and daily life. Rather than being just asupplier, Total Petrochemicals sees itself as a partner to its customers and carries out many of itsdevelopments with them.

Products that ensure well-being and progress

Total Petrochemicals products are omnipresent in daily life.

Whether for single or durable use, complex or simple, they are the result

of intense research work aimed at making them perform better,

easy to use and suited to fulfilling customer expectations.

Four main product categories

Polyethylene

A result of the polymerisation of ethylene,polyethylene is used in the automotiveindustry, as well as for packaging industrialand consumer products, and for water andgas supply pipes. It is used, for example, to manufacture fuel tanks.

Polypropylene

Polypropylene comes from thepolymerisation of propylene. Light, rigid, easyto use, watertight, resistant to shocks, heatand chemical agents, it is widely used in foodpackaging, in the form of sachets, tubs, pots,bottles, and to manufacture crates. It is alsoused to manufacture both woven fabrics(sports clothing) and non-woven fabrics(hygiene), rugs and carpets, and artificiallawns. A basic material of bumpers anddashboards, it contributes to improving the performance of the car industry.

Polystyrene

Total Petrochemicals manufactures andmarkets “crystal” type polystyrenes, highlytransparent, and “shock-proof” typepolystyrenes which are also highly resistantthanks to the addition of rubber. Polystyreneis used to package food, electronic goodsand household appliances and for thethermal insulation of buildings.

Elastomers*

At the frontier of the two worlds of rubberand plastic, elastomers cover a wide range of uses: modified plastics (packaging, clotheshangers), adhesives (disposable nappies),mastics, bitumens, road marking. They areused in blends to manufacture shoe soles,toys, sealants, capsules.

* Total Petrochemicals announced on 5th July 2006 its intention

to end elastomer production.

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A variety of applications

Polyethylene

Polypropylene

Polystyrene

Elastomers

Adhesives Automobile Construction Packaging

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ProductsHygiene &Cosmetics Medicine Fibres Plastics

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Total Petrochemicals supplies its industrial customers with the materials they

subsequently process. Proximity and collaboration are the guiding principles

of relations with each customer, so that their volume, geographical coverage,

timely delivery requirements can be satisfied. A partnership that is logistical,

geographical and operational.

Partners rather than customers

A successful partnership: grade PP ISBM

Working with a preform designer and a blower, Total Petrochemicals has

identified the parameters required to make polypropylene a material of

choice, allowing remarkably transparent, bright and lightweight bottles and

flasks to be manufactured at a competitive price.

Supply chain and technical service

Total Petrochemicals has invested in highly performing supply chains which

guarantee optimum delivery to customers within the shortest possible time,

regardless of the quantities ordered. Customers have a dedicated technical

support service to provide them with the best logistical solution.

In the field of polyethylene, an alliance between the expertise of a pipe

designer and the properties of grade HDPEXS10 has resulted in the

development of revolutionary technology in the production of multilayered

pipes for pipelines.

“Customer partnerships are Total

Petrochemicals’ trademark. Being

a partner means providing all our

customers with a seamless delivery

service, anywhere in the world. It also

means knowing how to develop a

technical tailor-made solution to make

a difference in the market. Two projects

perfectly illustrate our ability to provide

our customers with turnkey and

innovative solutions: the random

polypropylene copolymers developed

to offer solutions for transparent

packaging and tops, and polypropylene

metallocene, a high performance

material used by our customers

in the textile industry.”

Sonia De Greef, Polypropylene Sales Manager, Feluy, Belgium

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To ensure sustainable development, TotalPetrochemicals’ strategy relies on well-trained andresponsible teams, as well as on a strict industrial safetyculture shared by everyone. Openness and dialogue arethe guiding principles of its action in the field.

The key to sustainabledevelopment

Professionalism and diversity are the distinctive features of Total

Petrochemicals’ teams. Thanks to their highly diversified origins, languages,

professions and skills, the company’s employees contribute a wealth of

experience, professional paths and cultures.

International, multicultural and empowered teams

Skill and creativity

Total Petrochemicals makes every effort to train and develop each employee. Itsmanagement principles are to accompanyteams in their work, to manage and developthe skills of each team member, to givespace and voice to creativity. A guarantee of quality and initiative, which are competitiveadvantages in a complex, international andconstantly evolving international business.

Involvement at all levels

Whether it relates to innovation, safety or environmental protection, jointresponsibility is the rule. Total Petrochemicals’employees enjoy a considerable degree of independence. While complying with theTotal Group’s ethical rules, they have fullresponsibility for their actions. This individualempowerment creates a capacity to adaptand react which is essential for progress to be achieved.

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A culture of industrial safetySafety in the workplace is one of the key values of Total Petrochemicals.

Faced by constantly evolving situations and risks, the company is continuously

developing the skills of its management and verifying that its employees act

in a safe manner. The same rigour and the same requirement apply to

contractors working at the company’s sites. At the same time, Total

Petrochemicals is working to improve the safety of its processes

and equipment.

A safety management system

Awareness-building meetings, industrialsafety management, worker training andreturn of experience analysis: TotalPetrochemicals deploys its safetymanagement system throughout all its sites,at all levels of responsibility. Becauseprevention is a primary concern,internationally recognised safety audits* are carried out every three years at sensitive sites by an external organisation.

More effectively controlledtechnological risks

Total Petrochemicals has invested heavilyin strengthening risk control in its installationsand improving access control and trafficmovement at its sites. Each new project and each modification made to theinstallation is accompanied by a risk analysiswhich helps to define tailor-madeprogrammes to improve safety and establish prevention and protection rules.Risks associated with the storage andtransport of hazardous substances are thesubject of specific analysis and supervision.

A widespread safety culture

Safety requires the permanent involvementof all players. Ensuring this is the purpose of Safety in Action, a widespread internalprogramme of individual and collectivecommitment to safety aimed at firmlyestablishing a culture of safety and ensuringthat it is applied on a daily basis, at all levelsand in all areas of work. Safety in Action alsoprovides visitors and subcontractors of thecompany’s specific safety rules, sets asidespecific time for collective discussions andorganises safety action plans.

* ISRS (International Safety Rating System).

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At all its sites, Total Petrochemicals carries out a wide range of

community-based activities, prioritising listening and dialogue with

all the parties involved.

Enhanced social responsibility

A process of dialogue and community action

Launched in 2001, Common Groundattempts, through dialogue, to establishlasting relationships of trust between TotalPetrochemicals’ industrial sites and thesurrounding environment: neighbours,administrative authorities, associations, localpress…Listening and understanding theirquestions and expectations, explaining tothem how useful the products are and howthe production units work are just some of the activities regularly performed by theindustrial sites as part of this process.

A historical undertaking

Total Petrochemicals has for a long timebeen involved in public activities aimed atlimiting the environmental impact of the use of plastics. The “Vacances Propres”(Clean Holidays) programme, in which TotalPetrochemicals and other large companieshave been working together for thirty years,aims to develop the instinct to collect andsort waste among tourists andholidaymakers. Around 300,000 tonnes of waste products are collected everysummer in France thanks to the installation of collection points and to awareness-building campaigns in over 1,600municipalities and urban centres.

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“Safety is undoubtedly an absolute priority at

industrial petrochemical sites. It is an integral part

of all activities, at all levels and in all work situations.

Our need for safety requires the daily involvement

of all employees and partners. For example, all

our employees and workers, whatever their level

of seniority, regularly follow highly structured

training programmes. It is an area in which

one has to excel, evolve and progress

continuously. Tomorrow’s safety is being

prepared today.”

Stan Beisert, Polyethylene Site Manager, Bayport, United States

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Environmental commitment at each stage of the product’s life Total Petrochemicals assumes environmental responsibility not only for

the industrial process but for the entire lifecycle of its products: design,

use of raw materials, energy generation and consumption, packaging,

transport, use of the product and, above all, waste management.

Controlling the impact of activities

Following the example of other areas ofactivity in the Group, Total Petrochemicalshas launched a greenhouse gas reductionprogramme. Between 1990 and 2004, these gas emissions were cut by 40% in theGroup’s chemical business. By optimising itsindustrial installations, the company achievesconsiderable energy savings: for example, itssite in Carville, United States, has increasedits production by 30% while reducing itsenergy consumption. Total Petrochemicals is also working to reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) whichare harmful to the ozone layer. In Feluy,Belgium, it has successfully installed a VOC recovery by aspiration system.

Controlling the impact of products

Total Petrochemicals has undertaken two major challenges: • to give greater consideration

to the end-of-life of plastics,• to make greater use of renewable

resources of agricultural origin.Its research teams are working to achieve these aims.

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Total Petrochemicals plays an active role in the Responsible Care programme, avoluntary initiative taken by the world’schemical industry in 1990 to implement the concept of sustainable development. All its industrial sites are working to combineperformance with continuous progress in thefields of safety, health and the environment.

Respect for the values of societies andcultures in the host country, respect for theenvironment and respect for the company’sperformance criteria: Responsible Care is the cornerstone of the company’s entiresustainable development programme.

Joint action with all other chemicalindustry players

“Reducing the impact of our activities

on the environment has become a fundamental

concern and a major challenge for our business.

It involves not only reducing our waste emissions

into the environment, such as greenhouse

gases and volatile organic compounds,

but also thinking about the end-of-life

of our products. This thought-process

involves looking at all the possibilities.

We are carrying out research,

for example, on plastic materials

obtained from products of agricultural

origin, which are therefore renewable.”

Serge Simon, Sustainable Development Coordinator, Feluy, Belgium

Total worldwide

* Based on market capitalization as of December 31, 2005

** Source: 2005 Total Activity Report30

Total is the world’s fourth-largest publicly-traded integrated oil and gas company*, withoperations in more than 130 countries spanning the entire oil and gas chain, from exploration,development and production to midstream gas, refining and marketing, and crude oil andpetroleum product trading and shipping.

Total is also a world-class chemicals producer, and has interests in coal mines, cogenerationand power generation. In addition, Total is helping to secure the future of energy through itscommitment to developing renewable energies, such as wind, solar and photovoltaic power.

With more than 112,000 employees worldwide, Total reported sales of €143.2 billion in 2005.

Exploration & Production: • Exploration and production activities

in 41 countries • Production of oil and gas in 29 countries• Production: 2.49 million barrels

of oil equivalent per day • Reserves: 11.1 billion barrels of oil

equivalent as of Dec.31, 2005 **

Refining & Marketing: No. 1 EuropeanRefiner-Marketer, No. 1 in Africa• Refining capacity: approximately

2.7 million barrels per day• Retail network: nearly 17,000

service stations• Sales: approximately 3.9 million

barrels per day• Brands: Total, Elf, Elan, AS 24

A global multi-energy provider

A leader in each of the core businesses

Chemicals: Total is one of the world’s largest integrated producers and a European or global leader in each of our markets: Petrochemicals and Specialties.

As an international energy provider and chemicals producer, Total is directlyconcerned by major global economic, humanresources and environmental issues. Total iscommitted to tangible objectives as part ofits corporate social responsibility process,whose procedures, practices andperformance are clearly defined and disclosed.

Total’s main challenges as a manufacturerare sustainably developing energy supply,ensuring the safety of operations andreducing their environmental footprint,helping to combat climate change,respecting and promoting human rights,respecting neighbouring communities, and contributing to the development of host countries.

Our responsibilities as a manufacturer

TOTAL PETROCHEMICALSCommunications Department52, Rue de l’IndustrieB-1040 Brussels BelgiumPhone: +32 2 288 91 11www.totalpetrochemicals.com J

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