NNPC, TotalEnergies Renew Partnership to Cut Methane Emissions with Advanced Drone Technology
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and TotalEnergies have renewed their partnership to accelerate methane emission reduction across Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas operations through the continued deployment of the Airborne Ultralight Spectrometer for Environmental Applications (AUSEA) technology.
The renewed agreement, signed on Wednesday at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, extends the use of the advanced drone-based emission detection technology for another 24 months.
The initiative is aimed at helping NNPC Ltd achieve its gas flare reduction targets and meet commitments under the Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC), the Oil & Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) 2.0, and its ambition of attaining near-zero methane emissions by 2030.
The agreement was signed by NNPC Ltd’s Executive Vice President, Upstream, Mr. Udy Ntia, and TotalEnergies Country Chair and Managing Director, Mr. Matthieu Bouyer.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, Ntia expressed satisfaction with the results achieved during the first phase of the project and called for the technology to be expanded across more operational 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,” he said.
He also emphasized the need for institutionalized progress reporting to ensure compliance with environmental standards and suggested exploring opportunities for technology transfer to strengthen local capacity.
On his part, TotalEnergies’ Senior Vice President for Africa, Mike Sangster, commended the longstanding collaboration between the two companies. He noted that TotalEnergies was the first oil-producing company in Nigeria to eliminate gas flaring across all its assets, adding that the AUSEA technology played a key role in achieving that milestone.
Sangster said the company remains committed to its target of achieving near-zero methane emissions by 2030.
AUSEA is an innovative drone-based technology developed by TotalEnergies in partnership with the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the University of Reims. The system enables the detection and measurement of methane and carbon emissions, identifies previously unaccounted emission sources, improves reporting processes, supports operational reviews and corrective actions, and helps estimate flare combustion efficiency.
The renewed partnership is expected to strengthen environmental sustainability efforts in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector while supporting global decarbonization objectives.
