Storage is a vital logistical link in the natural gas marketing chain. It is used to adjust supply to strong seasonal fluctuations in demand and to optimize upstream investments, in particular in transportation and production infrastructure.

Natural Gas Storage
 
Geologically suitable sites for storing natural gas are scarce and expensive to develop.
 
In France, Total has acquired expertise in selecting and operating storage facilities through owning and operating underground storage centers in Lussagnet and Izaute, with a combined capacity of 2.4 billion cubic meters, approximately 20% of the total natural gas storage capacity in France*. The two reservoirs are aquifers that were converted into natural gas storage facilities. Their structure enables them to store large amounts of natural gas at sufficiently high pressure, without lateral or upward leakage.
 
Looking to the future, Lussagnet and Izaute’s development potential will make them one of the world’s major crossroads for natural gas, keeping markets fluid, natural gas prices competitive and industry development steady in Europe.

Since April 2005, the Group's transport and storage activities in southwest France have been brought under TIGF, a wholly-owned subsidiary

LPG Storage
 
In India, Total partnered with Hindustan Petroleum Company Ltd. (HPLC), India’s second-largest refiner/marketer, to create South Asia LPG Ltd (SALPG) owning and operating the LPG terminal located in Visakhapatnam, in the south eastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, which was inaugurated in January 2008. With a storage capacity of 60,000 metric tonnes, this terminal is the largest LPG import facility of India, able to accomodate the largest LPG vessels available on the market. It is also the firts underground cavern for hydrocarbon storage of India.

* Natural Gas Information 2006