London (Platts)--10Jul2008

French major Total believes investing in Iran given the current tense
climate is too much of a "political risk," its CEO told the UK's Financial
Times, according to a story posted late Wednesday on the paper's web site.

"Today we would be taking too much of a political risk to invest in Iran
because people will say: 'Total will do anything for money,'" Total CEO
Christophe de Margerie told the FT in an interview.

A spokeswoman for Total Thursday clarified that the comments to the FT
were made last week during the World Petroleum Congress in Madrid, and were
made in the context of the high oil price.

She said de Margerie was stressing that it was difficult for
international oil companies to invest in certain countries like Iran because
embargoes and sanctions were having an impact on the market, pushing the oil
price higher.

"It is not possible for Total, for anyone, to invest in Iran at present
because the political conditions are not very good," she said.

Total in May presented to Iranian authorities a plan to develop an LNG
project linked to the giant South Pars gas field.

Total has been negotiating the deal with the Iranians for several years,
but has failed to make a final investment decision because of the threat of
unilateral US sanctions that would penalize companies investing in Iran's
energy sector, and constraints imposed by UN sanctions that were slapped on
Iran over its nuclear program.

"We cannot invest at the moment in the [South Pars] project," the Total
spokeswoman said. "But we hope conditions will improve to be able to invest in
the near future," she said, adding that she did not know about the current
status of the company's negotiations with Iran.

However, she said Iran remained of strategic importance to the company.
Speaking in Madrid last week, de Margerie said world leaders needed to
take responsibility for their actions with regard to countries such as Iran
and Iraq.

"Our leaders, when they take decisions, need to understand the impact and
not just be told what they want to hear. Our responsibility is to say it as it
is. If you want to have an embargo, the impact will be that," he said.
"If you don't produce gas in Iran, of course it will have an impact on
the market," de Margerie said, noting the country's vast natural gas reserves.
"We must tell leaders: 'If you take decisions, you have to accept the
impact.'"