Repsol announces the start-up of natural gas production at the Tin-Fouy� Tabankort Field (TFT), located in the South-East of Algeria, about 1,200 km from Algiers. This field is operated by the company "Groupement TFT", which is formed by Repsol, Sonatrach and Total, bound by a Production Sharing Contract signed in January 1996 and with a duration of 20 years from the beginning of the production.

The TFT gas is wet gas and contains a significant quantity of LPG and condensate.

Production started at a rate of 5 million m3 per day of gas and, in a few weeks, should reach the nominal quantity of 20 million m3 per day, that is, more than 7 billion m3 per year. The wet gas so produced is separated into dry gas, LPG and condensate; 23,000 bbls per day (850,000 T/year) of condensate and 26,000 bbls per day (750,000 T/year) of LPG are sent separately to the freight terminal on the Algerian coast.

The investment required for the development of TFT amounts to US$ 700 million, divided among the three Associated Companies according to their share. Repsol holds a 30% interest and the rest is divided between Sonatrach and Total. By way of recovery and profit on their investments, Total and Repsol receive a quantity of natural gas, LPG and condensate according to the distribution stipulated in the Production Sharing Contract (PSC). All the dry gas is delivered to Sonatrach and, in return, the Algerian Company gives back an equivalent quantity of condensate and LPG.

Also in Algeria, and again in partnership with Sonatrach, Repsol operates in the Tifernine field, located 120 km to the South of Tin-Fouy� Tabankort. The initial production at this field started in December 1998, and the current production rate is around 12,000 bbls of oil per day. The Korean companies, Samsung and Hanwha, and the Dutch company, Oranje-Nassau, are co-shareholders with Repsol and Sonatrach in this field.