With routine flaring out of the way, TotalEnergies teams up with NNPC to curb Nigeria’s methane footprint

French energy giant TotalEnergies has joined forces with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC) to carry out methane detection and measurement campaigns using its advanced drone-based technology Airborne Ultralight Spectrometer for Environmental Applications (AUSEA) on the latter’s upstream operations in Nigeria.

The two players have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the adoption and deployment of the AUSEA methane detection technology on upstream operation sites to ascertain the level of methane emissions from them to work out emission curtailment measures in a bid to assist in combating global warming and climate change.

The MoU was signed by NNPC’s Executive Vice President of Upstream, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, and Managing Director and Country Chair of TotalEnergies EP Nigeria, Matthieu Bouyer, on behalf of their respective companies, under the supervision of the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) NNPC, Mele Kyari, and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné.

While aiming to put the deal in a proper perspective, Eyesan explained that the pilot phase of TotalEnergies’ AUSEA deployment would be on NNPC’s owned operations, adding that the deal would enable the company to deploy methane abatement measures.

Other benefits of this technology entail the identification of unaccounted emission sources, the establishment of a basis for querying and improving current emission reporting processes, the provision of data to review operational systems and implement corrective actions, and the estimation of flare combustion efficiency.

As a member of the World Bank’s Global Gas Flaring Reduction (GGFR) partnership, TotalEnergies endorsed the ‘Zero Routine Flaring by 2030’ initiative. The French energy giant underlines that it finalized the OML 100 Flare Out project in December 2023 in partnership with NNPC, becoming the first major operator in Nigeria to fully eliminate routine flaring from all operated assets.

“TotalEnergies is pleased to announce the end of routine flaring in its operations in Nigeria and the sharing of our in-house AUSEA technology with NNPCL, concretely supporting NNPCL to deliver the commitment taken at COP28 by endorsing the Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter. We had a very constructive and pragmatic discussion today with President Tinubu on key actions Nigeria should take to attract increased investment in the country”, said Pouyanné.

This announcement follows similar agreements signed ahead of COP28 with three other National Oil Companies (NOCs): Petrobras in Brazil, SOCAR in Azerbaijan, and Sonangol in Angola. Over the past decade, TotalEnergies has been developing major projects in Nigeria such as Egina, Ofon Phase 2, the OML 58 upgrade, and recently Ikike, which started in 2022.

The company’s long-term commitment to Nigeria is demonstrated by the continued exploration, evidenced by the Ntokon discovery in June 2023. TotalEnergies owns a portfolio of projects which might represent more than $6 billion in investments in the future years.