TOTALFINA has started production at the Peciko gasfield located offshore on the Mahakam permit, in East Kalimantan.

TOTALFINA is operator on the permit with a 50% interest in partnership with Inpex of Japan, owner of the remaining 50%, under a production sharing agreement signed with Indonesia's state oil company Pertamina.

Production at Peciko began at a rate of 11 million cubic meters per day and is expected to reach 22 million cubic meters per day starting January 2000.

Gas from the field is treated onshore at the Senipah terminal and sent to the Bontang liquefaction plant, where the eighth liquefaction train (train H) was commissioned in early November with annual capacity of 2.95 million metric tons. The new train increases the Bontang plant's annual capacity to 21.8 million metric tons, confirming its ranking as the world's largest LNG plant.

The start of production at the Peciko field should increase TOTALFINA's daily output on the Mahakam permit to more than 470,000 barrels oil equivalent in 2000, including 85,000 barrels of liquid and 64 million cubic meters of gas. At that time, TOTALFINA will supply nearly 60% of the Bontang plant's requirements and will be the leading gas producer in Indonesia, which plays a key role in the Group's gas development strategy in Asia.

TOTALFINA owns 94.93% of Elf Aquitaine as of end of October 1999. The two companies are awaiting approval from the European Commission to finalize their merger. A decision is expected in mid-February 2000.