TotalEnergies to cut oil production to 20% by 2050

…Committed to a lasting partnership with Nigeria

Sopuruchi Onwuka

French multinational supermajor, Total, had declared that it is on irreversible course to low carbon energy production, with target to persistently cut its oil and natural gas liquids production to about a fifth of its production in the next 30 years.

The company which operates a string of joint venture, incorporated joint venture and production sharing agreements with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) stated in a presentation at the ongoing Nigerian Annual International Conference and Exhibition (NAICE) of the Nigerian Council of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) that the next 30 years would be a transition period into diversified energy production.

Total which recently transformed into TotalEnergies stated that the current decade would be for its transformation into a broader energy firm, adding that it would gradually cut its petroleum liquids production would fall to 35 percent by 2030 and 20 percent by 2050.

In the same period, gas production would grow to 50 percent by 2030 before falling to 40 percent by 2050. Within the period, the company’s renewable energy production would steadily rise to 15 percent by 2030 and 40 percent by 2050.

The presentation by the Chairman of Total in Nigeria, Mr Mike Sangster, was delivered at the conference by the Deputy Managing Director in charge of Deepwater Operations, Mr Victor Bandele.

Mr Bandele said that the company’s production mix would consistently incline towards renewable energy on the reality of climate change and the need for collective mobilization of the society on the prevailing climate emergency.

In arguing that the production and use of energy contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, Mr Bandele pointed at clear relationship between climate change and public health as the reason the industry must address the concerns over its contribution to climate change.

He made it clear that “transforming the way we produce and use energy” informed the activation of movements towards energy transition as logical route to meeting the climate challenge.

According to him, the 2015 Paris Agreement recommended a target for carbon-neutral society by 2050 which, he said, forms “a demanding goal that we must all, collectively, commit to.”

“Together with society, we are adapting to a world-class player in the energy transition with a target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” declared; adding that the industry must adapt to the changing future of energy in order to remain relevant in the energy market of the future.

He stated that the petroleum industry is better placed to lead the charge in energy transition given its age long maturation in technological evolution, research and facility development.

“There is no other industry better positioned than ours to lead the crusade to clean energy and carbon neutrality,” he pointed out, adding that the petroleum industry must adopt strategic management in meeting the energy needs of our world sustainably.

 “We have the technology; we have the capability; we have the people. We must use all these to achieve the market innovation which strikes a balance between meeting the energy needs of a growing world population and meeting same in a sustainable, carbon-neutral manner without degrading the public health situation of our people.

“Since 2015, TotalEnergies has steered a determined course to new energies, in line with our ambition to provide energy that is reliable, affordable and clean; he pointed out.

In aligning the operations of TotalEnergies with prime aspirations of African governments, Mr Bandele stated that the company has remained in string partnership with the continent for over 80 years and in activities in Nigeria for 65 years.

“We have a broad and diversified portfolio in Nigeria, with operations in the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry. Our activities span onshore, conventional offshore, deep water, LNG and in the downstream, we operate over 577 service stations across the nation. We are, indeed, committed to a lasting partnership with Nigeria,” he stressed.

He added that “TotalEnergies Nigeria is committed to aligning with the National aspirations for maximizing existing energies and evolutions that are necessary in the coming years.”