The Sincor project partners TOTAL (47%), PDVSA (38%) and Statoil (15%) signed a $1.2 billion financing agreement with a banking syndicate in New York on August 21st, marking their firm commitment to undertake the project to produce, process and market extra-heavy oil from VenezuelaÕs Orinoco belt.

Operations on the Sincor project, which represents a total investment of $3.6 billion, are advancing on schedule. Following invitations to tender issued early this year, the main contracts for building the production and processing facilities will be awarded within a few weeks. It will then be possible to start construction work and development drilling.

Output from the project will plateau at 200,000 b/d of 8.5¡ API crude for a period of 35 years. The crude will be pumped from horizontal wells and mixed with a diluent for transport 200 kilometers via pipeline to the Jose terminal. There it will be processed into high quality, low sulfur 32¡ API synthetic crude. Production of this light crude is scheduled to start in 2001 and will plateau at 180,000 b/d.

The Sincor project is of strategic importance to TOTAL because it will make a major contribution to sustained growth in the Group's oil reserves and production. TOTAL is already operator (with a 55% interest) in Venezuela on the Jusepin permit, whose output is 35,000 b/d, and has a 50% stake in the Punta Pescador exploration permit north of the Orinoco delta.