NNPCL renews methane reduction deal with TotalEnergies

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By Obas Esiedesa

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has renewed its partnership with TotalEnergies to continue the deployment of advanced methane detection technology across its upstream operations for an additional 24 months as part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet its decarbonisation targets.

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The agreement extends the use of the Airborne Ultralight Spectrometer for Environmental Applications (AUSEA), a drone-based technology designed to detect, measure and help reduce methane and carbon emissions from oil and gas facilities.

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A statement by NNPC’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Andy Odeh, explained that the renewal agreement was signed on Wednesday by NNPC Limited’s Executive Vice President, Upstream, Mr. Udy Ntia, and TotalEnergies Country Chair and Managing Director, Mr. Matthieu Bouyer.

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The extension follows an earlier agreement signed in 2023 for the adoption of the technology and is aimed at supporting NNPC Ltd.’s commitments under the Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Charter (OGDC), the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) 2.0, and its ambition to achieve near-zero methane emissions by 2030.

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Speaking at the signing ceremony, Ntia said the successful implementation of the first phase of the project informed the decision to extend the partnership and scale up deployment across additional assets.

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“Today’s signing represents a practical step in NNPC Limited’s journey to build a credible, transparent and action-oriented decarbonisation programme. Through the AUSEA initiative, we are strengthening our ability to detect, quantify and prioritise methane abatement opportunities using advanced measurement technology,” he said.

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Ntia added that the company would seek to institutionalise progress reporting in line with regulatory compliance requirements while also exploring opportunities for technology transfer.

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According to NNPC, the AUSEA technology helps identify previously unaccounted emission sources, improve emission reporting processes, provide operational data for corrective actions and estimate flare combustion efficiency.

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Also speaking, TotalEnergies Senior Vice President, Africa, Mr. Mike Sangster, expressed satisfaction with the longstanding partnership between the two companies and highlighted TotalEnergies’ achievements in reducing emissions.

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