TotalEnergies and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) have signed a cooperation agreement to carry out methane emissions detection and measurement campaigns using TotalEnergies' AUSEA (Airborne Ultralight Spectrometer for Environmental Applications) technology.
The Cooperation Agreement was signed by Dr. Sangkaran Ratnam, Country Chair, TotalEnergies in India, on behalf of TotalEnergies, and Sushma Rawat, Director (Exploration), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, ONGC.
ONGC has been inviting international technology partners to help reduce its methane emissions in India by 2030, while TotalEnergies has decided to share its AUSEA technology to pivot the whole industry towards zero methane emissions by 2030. Both companies are parties to the Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Charter (OGDC), global industry initiative launched at COP28.
AUSEA by TotalEnergies
Mounted on a drone, the AUSEA gas analyzer, developed by TotalEnergies and its R&D partners, consists of a dual sensor capable of detecting methane and carbon dioxide emissions while at the same time identifying their source. This technology marks a step change in methane emissions detection and measurement compared to traditional techniques.
"Our industry's priority in the fight against climate change is to slash methane emissions from operations. Aiming for zero methane emissions by 2030 is our collective ambition as signatories of the OGDC at COP28. We are pleased to collaborate and make our AUSEA technology available to ONGC, in India, to detect, measure and eventually reduce methane emissions on their own assets", said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO, TotalEnergies.
Commenting on the pact, Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, ONGC, said, "In line with our collective ambitions as signatories of the OGDC at COP28, ONGC is scouting for new technologies to reduce its methane emissions by 50 per cent by 2027 and by 80 per cent in 2030 compared to 2020. The introduction of the AUSEA technology will further strengthen our efforts to achieve zero methane emissions by 2038."
After halving its methane emissions from its operated sites between 2010 and 2020, TotalEnergies set ambitious targets to step up its efforts and reduce methane emissions by a further 50 per cent by 2025 - with the ambition to reach this target a year early, in 2024 - and by 80 per cent in 2030, compared to 2020.
