TotalFinaElf announces that it has signed a technical and scientific protocol of agreement with the State Polar Academy of Saint Petersburg. The protocol, signed by Christophe de Margerie, Executive Vice-President Exploration and Production of TotalFinaElf and Ms. Chaoukenbaeva, rector of the Polar Academy, is in keeping with an intergovernmental co-operation agreement between France and Russia, which has been in existence since 1992. The protocol was signed on 1 July in Saint Petersburg in the presence of the President of the Republic of France, Jacques Chirac, during an official visit to Russia, and the Vice-President of the Russian Federal Government, Ilya Klebanov.

TotalFinaElf and the State Polar Academy will co-operate within the framework of regional projects, of which the objective is to guarantee lasting economic and social development in the regions of the extreme north of Russia, while respecting the environment and the traditional way of life of the local population.

The key elements of this co-operation are: the professional training of highly qualified specialists; the reception and management of students; the implementation of environmental, social and ethnological studies and the provision of financial and logistical assistance to the State Polar Academy, notably for Franco-Russian exchanges of the professorial body.

This co-operation is in line with the Group’s policy on sustainable development which adopts an integrated approach to development, one that achieves a balance between economic, environmental and social responsibilities.