Henrique Bandeira Vieira Managing Director & Chief Executive 27 June 1997 Sarah J Burton Director, Campaign for sane Energy Greenpeeace Ltd Canonbury Villas London N1 2PN

Fina House Ashley Avenue Epsom, Surrey KT18 5AD

Thank you for your letter of 9 May outlining your concerns about oil exploration in the "Atlantic Frontier" and the wider issue of climate change.

With regard to the West of Shetlands, exploration activity in the area is not new, indeed some of the exploration licences date back to the early licensing rounds in the 1970s.

However, we consider that there is no inherent conflict in the UK's exploration policy and the concept of sustainable development. Indeed, it would be dangerous to assume that new technologies will supplant fossil fuels within the foreseeable future and we believe it is in the interests of the UK to safeguard its future economic stability by making sure it has access to oil reserves on the UK Continental Shelf.

Accordingly, we shall continue to operate in the area in line with the terms and conditions specified in the licences issued by the UK Government and we will conduct our activities in an environmentally responsible manner.

On the subject of climate change or global warming, this is, as you well know, a complex and as yet, little understood, process. It is undeniable that mankind's activities have an impact on the climate - this has been the case from early times starting with the use of forests for fuel and building materials. However, you overlook in your letter that by far the greater part of global warming emissions come from natural processes other than burning of fossil fuels.

Nevertheless, we support the precautionary approach since it is apparent that the burning of fossil fuels has an impact on the overall balance. We are in favour of measures which encourage more efficient use of energy in all forms, including transport, and likewise the development of renewable energy sources. To this end our parent, PetroFina, is a partner of and has been funding research for a number of years by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology into global warming.

PetroFina has also participated in the work of the European Round Table, which has just published a report on positive action to tackle climate change. PetroFina has also recently held a briefing for management and oil industry representatives which was conducted by M.I.T. and Universite Catholique de Louvain.

These are not just empty phrases. In our own operations we, and our partners, are investing heavily in measures to improve energy efficiency - for instance a new CHP scheme at our 50% owned Lindsey Oil Refinery in North Lincs - as well as to reduce waste, emissions to the atmosphere and in the production of"cleaner" fuels.

We believe that the oil industry has played a vital role in supplying the energy, plastics and other materials which have fuelled the economic prosperity of the modern world and will continue to do so in the future.