By Uche Usim
In line with its strategic plans to achieve energy security and a clean environment, TotalEnergies E&P Nigeria says it will end routine gas flaring in 2023.
The combustion process of gas flaring raises the soil temperature, with a decline in crop yield and acid rains as its two major ripple effects. Nigeria’s new National Gas Policy (NGP) aimed to end gas flaring by the year 2030. However, TotalEnergies said it was aggressively tackling the gas flaring challenge because it was moving towards delivering safer, cleaner and accessible energy, while about 95 per cent of its gas production was being utilised currently.
The Deputy Managing Director, TotalEnergies E&P Nigeria, Mr Victor Bandele, while speaking at the CEO Roundtable at the ongoing Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2023) in Abuja on Tuesday noted that the event provided top energy companies an opportunity to share their thoughts on how best to solve issues around energy poverty was tagged “Building Energy for Tomorrow”.
Bandele reiterated the plan to stop flaring in 2023 has been in the works since the past 15 years, adding that good progress has been recorded thus far.
He expressed commitments to ensure fully integrated, sustainable and available energy in the oil and gas industry to actualise energy transition.
According to him, TotalEnergies places a high premium on safety of people and the need to protect the environment.
“Over the years we have been consistent in development, making sure that all infrastructures we have are fully utilised.
“This year we have just finished drilling an exploration well and we will continue to consolidate on the things we know how best to do,” he said.
On gas as a transition fuel, Bandele said that huge onshore projects have been inaugurated and currently at the engineering stage.
According to him, there has been a deliberate action by the company to electrify various communities situated at its oil Block for the past 25 years.
“We acquired the second largest solar company in the world. It is also a deliberate action to work in that space to boost the industry,” he added.
He said the company would continue to consolidate on new energy and concentrate on gas development.
He however challenged the industry regulators to increase the scope of gas to be used on gas channels because the pipelines were being utilised.
He said TotalEnergies was in discussions with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) on how to install another 10 megawatt electricity to a community in the zone of its project, 100 per cent based on solar with two years target completion.
Bandele said TotalEnergies had made a lot of progress by its domestic gas education to stakeholders and was continously enriching its portfolio in gas.
He said it had been pushing in all areas and had launched many projects including onshore projects which would be leaving substantial gas to Nigerian markets for export.
“TotalEnergies is present in all sectors of energy in Nigeria, namely downstream, midstream and upstream.
On its downstream operations, he said its 550 filling stations operating at the downstream sector in Nigeria operate with solar energy.
Bandele, while stating that so much time had been wasted on deliberations called for deliberate actions with follow-up actions for energy security actualisation.
He described Nigeria as a cornerstone to the development of Africa and ripe for huge gas utilisation.