TotalFinaElf and its partners today announced that they have approved the launching of the Otter oil field development plan, in the northern UK sector of the North Sea. TotalFinaElf operates Otter with a 54.296% interest, alongside Agip (19.004%), Shell (13.350%) and Exxon (13.350%). The development plan is subject to approval by the UK Department of Trade and Industry.

Otter is an as yet undeveloped discovery on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). Production is expected to begin in the fourth quarter 2002, rising to a plateau production rate of 30,000 barrels per day of oil. The development plan represents an investment of around £145 million.

Otter was discovered in 1977. The innovative development plan consists of five subsea wells - three to produce oil and two for water injection – equipped with electrical pumps and tied back to the neighboring Eider platform, operated by Shell.

The Otter project strengthens TotalFinaElf’s activities in the UK sector of the North Sea, where the Group has been present for more than 35 years and where it is participating in the development of three major areas: Alwyn, Elgin/Franklin and Bruce.