An exceptional meeting of the French and European Elf Aquitaine Works Councils was held today under the chairmanship of Philippe Jaffré, Chairman and CEO of Elf Aquitaine.

The subject of the meeting was to examine the public tender offer of Total Fina for Elf and the counter-offensive launched by Elf for Total Fina. The discussions were focused mainly on the comparison of the two opposing plans, especially concerning the industrial stakes and the possible consequences on employment.

The innovative aspects of the Elf Aquitaine plan were examined in depth:

• in the energy activities: downstream gas development, leading-edge technologies in exploration-production, competitiveness and cost control.

• in the chemicals activities: creation of the world's fifth largest chemicals group concerning 75,000 jobs.

The possibility of inviting the Chairman of Total Fina, previously introduced by a union source, to explain his offer before the works councils was rejected by a large majority, being considered inopportune in the present context.

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Two prospectuses prepared by Elf Aquitaine have been approved by the COB on August 2, 1999 bearing reference #1041 and #1042

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This document is neither an offer to exchange or sell nor a solicitation of an offer to exchange or buy any of the securities mentioned herein, and the Offer to which this document relates is not being made in any jurisdiction in which the making or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities laws of the jurisdiction.

This document may contain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations, business, strategy and plans of the Elf Group. In particular, statements using the words "expects", "anticipates", and similar expressions, and statements with regards to management goals and objectives, expected or targeted production data, trends in results of operations, margins, or the expected benefits of the tender offer referred to herein are forward-looking in nature. Such statements are based on a number of assumptions that could ultimately prove inaccurate, and are subject to a number of risk factors, including currency fluctuations, the price of petroleum products, the ability to realize cost reductions and operating efficiencies without unduly disrupting business operations, environmental regulatory considerations and general economic and business conditions. The Group does not assume any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Further information on factors which could affect the company's financial results is provided in documents filed with the Commission des Opérations de Bourse and the US Securities and Exchange Commission.