NNPC renews TotalEnergies airborne tech deal to curb methane, carbon emission

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has renewed its agreement with TotalEnergies to extend the deployment of the Airborne Ultralight Spectrometer for Environmental Applications (AUSEA) technology for the detection, measurement, and reduction of methane and carbon emission across its upstream operations for another 24 months.

The agreement, which is aimed at helping NNPC Ltd meet its gas flare reduction obligation in keeping with its Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC) commitments, Oil & Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) 2.0 participation and near-zero methane ambition by 2030, is a follow up on an earlier agreement signed in 2023 for the adoption of the AUSEA technology.

Commenting on the deal which was signed in Abuja on Wednesday, Udy Ntia, NNPC Ltd’s executive vice president, Upstream, who signed on behalf of the company, explained that the AUSEA initiative is a step in strengthening the company’s ability to detect, quantify and prioritise methane abatement opportunities using advanced measurement technology.

He expressed satisfaction with the first phase of the deployment of the technology, stressing that he would like to see it scaled across more assets.

“Today’s signing represents a practical step in NNPC Limited’s journey to build a credible, transparent and action-oriented decarbonization programme.

“Through the AUSEA initiative, we are strengthening our ability to detect, quantify and prioritise methane abatement opportunities using advanced measurement technology,” Ntia added.

He also called for the institutionalization of progress reporting, in line with compliance requirements and the possibility of leveraging transfer of the AUSEA technology.

In his remarks, Mike Sangster, TotalEnergies’ senior vice president, Africa, noted that TotalEnergies was the first oil producing company in Nigeria to end gas flaring in all its assets, adding that the AUSEA technology was instrumental to that feat, even as the company looks forward to near-zero methane emissions by 2030.

AUSEA is a drone-based technology developed by TotalEnergies in partnership with the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the University of Reims.

It helps in the identification of unaccounted emission sources, establishment of basis for querying and improving current emission reporting processes, provision of data to review operational system and implement corrective actions, as well as estimation of flare combustion efficiency.