At the Annual Meeting of TotalFinaElf shareholders on May 25, 2000 Thierry Desmarest commented:

" TotalFinaElf’s proforma net income (Group share), excluding non-recurring items rose to 3,349 million euros in 1999, a 24% increase as compared to proforma 1998. Proforma 1999 net income (Group share) including non-recurring items was 3,496 million euros, a 93% increase as compared to proforma 1998. The 1999 environment was volatile. Oil prices surged to new highs, but refining and petrochemical margins fell off sharply. Growth, productivity gains, and the initial synergies stemming from the merger with Petrofina led to a significant improvement in operating results. "

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" The merger of Totalfina and Elf Aquitaine, which was approved by the European Commission on February 9, 2000, has led to the creation of TotalFinaElf, France’s largest industrial group and the fourth-largest oil company worldwide. Employee teams will now be combined into a new organization, business by business. The two successive mergers will allow TotalFinaElf to capture significant synergies of 2.35 billion euros per year from 2003, in addition to existing growth and productivity programs. In a constant environment, these actions should lead to an increase in operating results of 4.4 billion euros per year in 2003, compared to proforma 1999. This increase should permit the doubling of the net result during the same period. "

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" For the year 2000, TotalFinaElf expects to maintain its investments at a high level of 8 billion euros. Two-thirds of the investments will be dedicated to Upstream growth, with strict selection criteria being maintained even though the current environment is more favorable. By 2005, the capital employed in the Upstream should reach 50%, while the Downstream should decline to 25%, and the share of Chemicals should be 25%. "

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" Regarding the TotalFinaElf results for the first quarter 2000, we have benefited from a favorable environment, with an average oil price of $27/barrel, European refining margins of more than $14/ tonne, and a stronger dollar relative to the euro. Thanks to this environment and to the actions taken by our employee teams, all of the business segments have improved their operating results. Globally, the net result for the first quarter 2000 tripled as compared to the proforma first quarter 1999, rising to approximately 1.65 billion euros. Expressed in dollars, the increase is in line with that of our largest competitors. In April and May, we continued to enjoy a favorable environment and our operations continued to develop favorably, leading us to expect satisfactory first half results. "