DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES AND GUARANTEE
General
TOTAL may issue debt securities and Total Capital, Total Canada or Total Capital International may issue guaranteed debt securities using this prospectus. As required by U.S. federal law for all bonds and notes of companies that are publicly offered, the debt securities that TOTAL may issue are governed by a contract between TOTAL and The Bank of New York Mellon, acting through its London Branch, as trustee, called an indenture. In the same manner, the guaranteed debt securities that each of Total Capital, Total Canada or Total Capital International may issue are governed by another, separate indenture, in each case among the respective issuer, TOTAL and The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee. Unless otherwise stated in a prospectus supplement, the address for the trustee is The Bank of New York Mellon, One Canada Square, London E14 5AL, United Kingdom.
The trustee under the indentures has two main roles:
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first, it can enforce your rights against us if we default. There are some limitations on the extent to which the trustee acts on your behalf, described under “Default and Related Matters — Events of Default — Remedies If an Event of Default Occurs” below; and
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second, the trustee performs administrative duties for us, such as sending you interest payments, transferring your debt securities to a new buyer if you sell your debt securities and sending you notices.
Under the indenture for the guaranteed debt securities that may be issued by Total Capital, Total Canada or Total Capital International, TOTAL acts as the guarantor. For the guaranteed debt securities that Total Capital, Total Canada or Total Capital International may issue using this prospectus, TOTAL will fully and unconditionally guarantee the payment of the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the guaranteed debt securities, including certain additional amounts which may be payable under the debt securities and the guarantee, as described under “— Special Situations — Payment of Additional Amounts”. TOTAL will guarantee the payment of such amounts when such amounts become due and payable, whether at the stated maturity of the guaranteed debt securities, by declaration or acceleration, call for redemption or otherwise.
In other respects, the guaranteed debt securities are subject to the same material provisions as the other debt securities described below.
Each indenture and its associated documents contain the full legal text governing the matters described in this section. The indentures, the debt securities and the guarantee are governed by New York law. We and the trustee have agreed to, and each holder of a debt security by its acceptance thereof agrees to, waive the right to trial by jury with respect to any legal proceeding directly or indirectly arising out of or relating to the indentures or the debt securities. A form of each indenture is an exhibit to our registration statement. See “Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation by Reference” for information on how to obtain a copy.
The trustee will not be liable for special, indirect or consequential damages and will not be liable for any failure of its obligations caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control.
This section summarizes the material provisions of the indentures, the debt securities and, for the case of guaranteed debt securities, the guarantee. However, because it is a summary, it does not describe every aspect of the indentures, the debt securities or the guarantee. This summary is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to all the provisions of the indentures, including some of the terms used in the indentures. We describe the meaning for only the more important terms. We also include references in parentheses to some sections of the indentures. Whenever we refer to particular sections or defined terms of the indentures in this prospectus or in the prospectus supplement, those sections or defined terms are incorporated by reference herein or in the prospectus supplement. This summary also is subject to and qualified by reference to the description of the particular terms of your series described in the prospectus supplement.
TOTAL, Total Capital, Total Canada and Total Capital International may issue as many distinct series of debt securities under their respective indentures as we wish. This section summarizes all material terms of the debt securities that are common to all series, unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement relating to a particular series. References to “we” and “us” in this section refer to either TOTAL, or in connection with an offering of guaranteed debt securities, both TOTAL and Total Capital, TOTAL and Total Canada or TOTAL and Total Capital International unless otherwise indicated.