By Abiodun Folarin
WorldStage— The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), has deployed a technology driven emissions tracking platform to strengthen Nigeria’s target of reducing methane emissions by 60 per cent by 2035.
The platform, known as the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Emission Tracker (NOGIET), is designed to improve methane monitoring, emissions reporting and regulatory enforcement across the oil and gas industry.
The platform was formally handed over to the Commission Chief Executive of NUPRC, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
The Executive Commissioner, Health, Safety, Environment and Community (HSEC), Captain John Tonlagha, who represented Eyesan, said the initiative would strengthen the implementation of the Commission’s 2022 Guidelines for the Management of Fugitive Methane and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Upstream Oil and Gas Sector.
The guidelines require oil and gas operators to transition from estimation-based to measurement-based emissions reporting by the first quarter of 2027.
Eyesan said NOGIET aligns with the Commission’s digital transformation agenda and Nigeria’s commitments to reducing methane emissions, eliminating routine gas flaring and achieving net-zero emissions by 2060.
According to her, the platform integrates satellite based methane plume detection, regulatory mapping of oil blocks and pipelines, and facility level emissions measurements to help regulators identify emission hotspots, detect discrepancies in reported data and prioritise inspections.
She added that effective integration of the system into the Commission’s regulatory monitoring and data management processes would improve the credibility, consistency and reliability of emissions data.
NOGIET was developed through a partnership involving the Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN), with financial and technical support from the Global Methane Hub (GMH).
The platform is designed for use by both the NUPRC and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), providing a coordinated approach to methane management across the oil and gas value chain.
The NUPRC chief commended the Global Methane Hub for its financial and technical support, while acknowledging SDN’s leadership and coordination in delivering the initiative.
Speaking at the handover, SDN Board Chairman, Mr Inemo Samiama, said the platform’s ability to compare satellite observations with facility-level measurements would enable regulators to identify potential discrepancies and take evidence-based enforcement actions.
“SDN hands over NOGIET in full, front end and back end, at no cost to the Commission. The platform will move from its temporary home at nogiet.ng to the Commission’s own subdomain,” Samiama said.
He noted that the platform was designed to cover the entire oil and gas sector, stressing that methane emissions management required coordination between upstream and downstream regulators.
“Because methane does not stop at the boundary between upstream and downstream, NOGIET is designed as one platform for the whole oil and gas sector,” he added.
The deployment comes as Nigeria intensifies efforts to strengthen emissions monitoring, improve regulatory compliance and reduce methane emissions from oil and gas operations.
