Energy firm TotalEnergies has announced it will deploy a revolutionary new technology to reduce emissions of methane at its Barnet gas field operations in the United States.
While much attention is paid to carbon emissions’ contribution to climate change, methane is actually much more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere. The innovative technology from Qnergy allows instrumentation that is powered by methane to instead be powered by compressed air. In a trial earlier this year, the company found the technology to be simple to use, reliable, easy to install and 98% effective at eliminating the methane emissions resulting from these instruments.
TotalEnergies, the new name for oil major and lubricant maker Total, is transitioning to become a broad-based energy supplier. It sees natural gas as a cleaner alternative to coal in the near term and has committed to slashing methane emissions from the natural gas supply chain.
In a statement, TotalEnergies’ Senior Vice President for Climate and Sustainability, Carole Le Gall, said about the new technology:
“We have successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of Qnergy’s technology on the Barnett field. By immediately deploying this technology on our US onshore operations, we are actively demonstrating our commitment to reducing our own methane emissions by 20% between 2020 and 2025.”
Overall, the company has roughly halved its methane emissions since 2010 by ensuring near-zero emissions on new projects, phasing out traditional practices like flaring and venting, and clamping down on fugitive emissions. It managed to reduce the emission rate of its natural gas operations to below 0.1% last year.
