Following remarkable efforts of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to attract foreign investments into key sectors of the nation’s economy at the just concluded Conference of Parties (COP28) in Dubai, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TotalEnergies for the adoption and deployment of a methane detection technology known as Airborne Ultralight Spectrometer for Environmental Application (AUSEA) in all its upstream operations.
Methane is the primary contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone, a hazardous air pollutant and greenhouse gas exposure to which causes 1 million premature deaths every year.
Speaking on the collaboration at the MoU signing event, the GCEO of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, described TotalEnergies as a reliable partner over the years that could be collaborated with in the current drive to optimize the abundant hydrocarbon resources endowments for national development.
According to the NNPCL boss, the partnership with TotalEnergies AUSEA technology on its upstream operations sites will help ascertain the level of methane emissions from them with a view to working out emission curtailment measures to help in combating global warming and climate change.
Commenting on the deal, the NNPCL’s Executive Vice-President, Upstream, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the pilot phase of the TotalEnergies AUSEA deployment would be on NNPCL-owned operations to facilitate easy deployment of methane abatement measures.
He listed other potential benefits of the partnership as including identification of unaccounted emission sources, establishment of a basis for querying and improving current emission reporting processes, provision of data to review operational system and implement corrective actions, and estimation of flare combustion efficiency.
In his remarks, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, said the company was offering the technology to NNPCL in keeping with its commitment to promoting responsible production of hydrocarbons in the country.
He commended the NNPCL for its successful transition to a limited liability company, noting that the gains of Nigeria’s energy reforms, especially the transition of the company to a limited liability entity are already being experienced not only in the company but also in the sector.
The MoU was signed by NNPCL’s Executive Vice-President, Upstream, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, and Managing Director and Country Chair, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria, Matthieu Bouyer.
