Registration Document 2005 - Total.com

2
Business overview
Upstream - Exploration & Production
for development of these discoveries. Four new discoveries also
confirmed the potential of Block 31 (5%).
On Block 33 (15%), the partners decided not to extend the
exploration period after two new dry wells.
In 2005, TOTAL and its partners decided to initiate basic
engineering studies for the Angola LNG project (13.6%), which is
intended to develop natural gas reserves in Angola.
The Republic of Angola and the Republic of Congo, with the
partners on Block 14 in Angola and the Haute Mer permit in
Congo, have formed a joint development area that covers the
sectors adjacent to these permits. TOTAL holds a combined
interest of 36.75% in this zone through its subsidiaries in Angola
(10%) and in Congo (26.75%).
Cameroon
TOTAL’s share of production in 2005 averaged 12 kboe/d,
compared to 13 kboe/d in 2004 and 14 kboe/d in 2003.
TOTAL E&P Cameroun, 75.8% of which is owned by TOTAL,
20% by the state-owned Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures
Camerounaise (SNH), and 4.2% by minority shareholders, operates
over 65% of the country’s production and owns interests in most of
the operating concessions granted by the Republic of Cameroon.
The Bakingili field (25.5%, operator), discovered in October 2004,
came on stream in August 2005.
In April 2005, a production sharing contract was signed by TOTAL
E&P Cameroun (50%, operator) and the Republic of Cameroon on
the Dissoni offshore block.
In early 2006, the government of Cameroon awarded TOTAL 100%
of the Bomana exploration block on the offshore Rio Del Rey basin.
Congo
TOTAL has been present in Congo since 1928 and is the operator
of more than 50% of the country’s production. TOTAL produced
an average of 95 kboe/d in 2005, an increase of 5% over 2004
and 2003. In 2005, TOTAL launched Phase 1 of the Moho-Bilondo
(53.5%, operator) project, which is expected to come on stream in
2008 with a technical production plateau of 90 kboe/d.
TOTAL holds interests ranging from 25.5% to 100% in several
exploration and production permits and is the operator on the
principal producing fields, Nkossa and Tchibouela. The Republic
of Congo and the Republic of Angola, with the partners on the
Haute Mer permit in Congo and Block 14 in Angola, have formed
a joint development area that covers the sectors adjacent to these
permits. TOTAL holds a combined interest of 36.75% in this zone
through its subsidiaries in Congo (26.75%) and in Angola (10%).
22 TOTAL - Registration Document 2005
Under an agreement signed in 2003 with the Republic of Congo,
TOTAL sold its 65% interest in the Likouala concession.
Over the period from 2003 to 2005, the initial period of the Mer Très
Profonde Sud exploration permit was successively extended and is
currently due to expire in May 2006. The Haute Mer C exploration
permit was awarded in 2003 and the corresponding production
sharing contracts have been approved by the Parliament.
Effective as of January 1, 2005, TOTAL acquired an additional
2.5% interest on all permits derived from the former Haute Mer
exploration permit. This raised its participating interests in the
Nkossa, Nsoko and Moho-Bilondo production permits to 53.5%
and in the joint development area to 26.75%.
In 2004, the Mobim 1 well drilled on the Moho-Bilondo permit
helped to confirm the development project. The operating license
was awarded in 2005, which allowed the launch of the first
development phase in August 2005.
In 2004, the Pégase North exploration well, drilled on the Mer Très
Profonde Sud exploration permit, confirmed the potential of this
ultra-deepwater permit. A discovery was made with the Boatou-3
exploration well on the Haute Mer C permit in 2005.
Gabon
TOTAL Gabon is one of the Group’s oldest subsidiaries in
sub-Saharan Africa. The Group’s share of production in 2005
averaged 98 kboe/d, compared to 104 kboe/d in 2004 and
105 kboe/d in 2003.
TOTAL Gabon is a Gabonese company whose shares are listed on
Euronext Paris. TOTAL holds 57.9%, the Republic of Gabon 25.0%
and the public float is 17.1%.
TOTAL Gabon holds 27 concessions and exploration and
production permits. The principal producing fields are Rabi-Kounga
(47.5%), Anguille (100%), Gonelle (100%), Baudroie Nord (50%,
operator), Torpille (100%) and Avocette (57.5%, operator).
In 2004, TOTAL Gabon signed an exploration and production
sharing contract for a new license known as Aloumbé, specifically
focused on natural gas exploration. If natural gas is discovered,
it would initially be used to enhance oil recovery on the existing
fields and, eventually, to satisfy part of the country’s future power
generation requirements.
In 2003, TOTAL Gabon signed an operating and production sharing
contract which extended the license on the Rabi Kounga field until
2013, with the possibility of obtaining an additional extension for
two five-year periods.