TotalEnergies pledges 9.4 MW of renewable energy by 2025

• To phase out gas flares before Jan

Sopuruchi Onwuka

French multinational energy major, TotalEnergies, has pledged to assist in meeting Nigeria’s electricity demand by adding significant 9.4 megawatts of supply through renewable sources.

The company which has developed more oilfields in the past decade than any operating company in the country doubled down on its pledge to end routine flaring at all operated installations in the nation by the end of the year!

With the pledge, TotalEnergies would be the first major multinational operator in the country to phase out routine flaring at operated onshore, shallow water and deep offshore oil blocks in the country.

Managing Director/Chief Executive, TotalEnergies E&P Nigeria Limited, Mr Matthieu Bouyer, declared at the opening session of the 41^st annual international conference and exhibitions of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) hosted in Lagos that its intervention in the power sector and erasure of carbon footprints in its petroleum operations all plug into its global commitment to sustainable energy.

He declared that the company’s intervention in the Nigerian electricity supply industry (NESI) is part its global efforts in cutting high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and high carbon footprints in the power sector.

The Oracle Today reports that whereas the government of the country, the African petroleum producers and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cling on continued use of fossil energy as key plan for energy security, private firms have taken the lead in exposing possibilities available to Africa in plugging into the global movement for sustainable energy.

Mr Bouyer said TotalEnergies is committed to evolving a future business model of “multi-energies” and promoting the use of cleaner and renewable energies sources.

He told conference delegates that TotalEnergies is currently ramping up the Solarization of energy sources in operated facilities and host communities in Nigeria; pushing from “modest generation of 0.12 MW in 2021 to 0.55 MW in 2023 and with a target of 9.4MW by the end of 2025.”

The Oracle Today reports that the Nigerian power transmission grid can currently deliver only 5000 MW of electricity, and the distribution networks can only deliver about 4000 MW. This has created huge redundancies in the upstream power sector where installed capacity is about 13,000 MW.

Homes and businesses in the economy rely on oil fired self generation, renewable supply packs by multiple vendors to close a supply gap of over 40,000 MW required to power social and business activities in the country.

Several policies to convert natural gas to electricity generation through the gas-to-power programme and the imposition of domestic gas supply obligation on upstream producers were disabled by flawed commercial models in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) where multiple players with differing business models are lumped in a commercial relay.

Acute gaps in grid power supply has provided side opportunities for suppliers of micro-generating sets, renewable energy equipment suppliers, renters and vendors that assist people with low cost self generation options.

TotalEnergies currently plays in the renewable power market in Nigeria and has pledged to eliminate oil fired generation at operated facilities in the country.

Government is currently issuing licenses to investors with capacity to harness flare gas volumes from production sites for supply into the domestic market to assist with sundry industrial applications including power generation.

“We will eliminate routine flaring at our installations in Nigeria by the end of 2023,” Mr Bouyer vowed, adding that gas has become a key critical factor in the prevailing global push for energy transition from dirty fuels.

According to him, gas would now become to the lead petroleum commodity from the company as TotalEnergies aims to reduce its global GHG emissions from oil and gas facilities by 40% in 2030. 

In the next seven years, Mr Bouyer stated, gas would form half of the total energies produced by the company in a mix that would now cut petroleum liquids to 30%; grow electricity products to 15 percent, and enhance production of biomass and hydrogen to 5%. 

“In this journey of energy transition, we recognize the strategic role of natural gas. Gas produces half the GHG emissions of coal for the generation of electricity.  It emits less GHG than oil for the same quantity of energy. And in its liquefied form (LNG), it offers similar ease of storage and transport,” Mr Bouyer pointed out.

“Gas is therefore the key energy of the transition as renewable energies today cannot meet the energy needs of the world’s populations,” he declared.

For the country to remain relevant or even survive in the foreseeable future, Mr Bouyer called on policy makers, regulators and other stakeholders in the Nigerian oil and gas industry to evolve a future business model of “multi-energies” that progressively reduces the carbon foot prints of petroleum exploration operations whilst transiting to cleaner and renewable energy sources.

He described the model as one that captures the roadmap that delivers the 17 sustainable development goals set by 2030.

He noted that policies and regulations have to support new business models that address issues of sustainable energy sources and promote climate-responsible suppliers by advancing incentives for investments in renewable energy sources and efforts that accelerate low-carbon solutions.

He called for a policy environment that adopts business models with greater focus on people’s well-being, environmentally friendly projects, protection of biodiversity, promotion of circular economy and preservation of freshwater resources.

“We believe more progress will be made if we set concrete targets for the near and long term in the following key areas as a country and as stakeholders,” Mr Bouyer stated.