By Ayomide Otitoju
NNPC Limited (NNPC Limited) and TotalEnergies (TotalEnergies) have renewed their collaboration to extend the deployment of the Airborne Ultralight Spectrometer for Environmental Applications (AUSEA) technology for methane detection, measurement, and reduction across upstream operations for another 24 months.
The agreement, signed on Wednesday at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, is a continuation of an initial arrangement reached in 2023 and is aimed at supporting NNPC’s gas flare reduction targets under its Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC), participation in the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) 2.0, and its ambition to achieve near-zero methane emissions by 2030.
The signing was carried out by NNPC’s Executive Vice President, Upstream, Udy Ntia, and TotalEnergies Country Chair and Managing Director, Matthieu Bouyer.
Ntia described the renewed agreement as a step forward in building a transparent and results-driven decarbonisation framework, noting that the technology enhances the company’s ability to detect, quantify, and prioritise methane abatement opportunities across its assets.
He also called for stronger institutional reporting structures and explored the possibility of wider deployment and transfer of the technology within NNPC operations.
On his part, TotalEnergies Senior Vice President for Africa, Mike Sangster, commended the long-standing partnership with NNPC, noting that the company was the first oil producer in Nigeria to eliminate routine gas flaring across its assets. He added that AUSEA has played a key role in supporting emissions monitoring efforts as the company works toward near-zero methane emissions by 2030.
AUSEA is a drone-based emissions monitoring system developed by TotalEnergies in collaboration with the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the University of Reims. It is used to identify unaccounted emission sources, improve emissions reporting accuracy, support operational reviews, guide corrective actions, and assess flare combustion efficiency.
