Decarbonization of the Oil & Gas Sector: TotalEnergies Steps up Its Commitment

The oil and gas industry is responsible for approximately 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions⁽¹⁾ and around a quarter of anthropogenic methane emissions⁽²⁾. Reducing emissions from the sector’s operations alone would significantly drive down greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale. Aware of this responsibility, the industry intends to contribute to the fight against climate change. Created in 2023, the Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC) is a tangible illustration of the industry’s ambitions, since by joining the initiative, its signatories are committed to aiming for:

• net-zero emissions in their operations by 2050,
• near-zero upstream methane emissions by 2030, and
• the elimination of routine flaring by 2030.

OGDC members are also committed to sharing their best practices to lower Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and measuring and publicly reporting progress.

Read the charter (PDF)

The publication of the OGDC's first report on November 11, 2024, represents a milestone: the OGDC now has an accurate baseline that sets the foundation for building future success and measuring the sector’s progress.

Sharing and collaboration: a major driver for reaching the decarbonization targets

By promoting peer-to-peer collaboration and encouraging the adoption of best practices, the Collaborate & Share program is a cornerstone of the OGDC’s efforts to accelerate climate action. It offers signatories a repository of industrial knowledge and resources across a broad range of areas, in which TotalEnergies intends to play an active role.

As pioneers in detecting and quantifying our methane emissions, we have a unique technology that was presented to the OGDC’s signatories during a workshop: AUSEA is a drone-mounted dual gas sensor that is capable of detecting methane and carbon dioxide emissions, while at the same time identifying their source, to slash emissions. Since 2022, we have been deploying AUSEA across our operated sites in the Upstream segment. As part of our firm conviction that sharing technology is essential for moving the entire sector forward, we are also making this technology available to national companies members of the OGDC, including Petrobras in Brazil, SOCAR in Azerbaijan, Sonangol in Angola, NNPC in Nigeria, and ONGC and Oil India in India.

TotalEnergies on the road to near-zero methane

We have been committed to reducing methane emissions for many years: between 2010 and 2020, we halved the volume of emissions generated by our operated facilities. In 2024, we are on track to meeting our target of lowering our methane emissions by 50% compared to 2020, one year ahead of schedule. We are now aiming for an 80% reduction in methane emissions by 2030 compared to 2020, i.e. near-zero emissions. Our action plan is based on three main levers, namely stop routine flaring, stop venting, and repair leaks as soon as they are detected.

In November 2024, we announced a new milestone in monitoring and reducing our methane emissions by installing continuous detection equipment on all our operated upstream assets. IoT sensors, infrared cameras, flowmeters and predictive emissions monitoring systems: some 13,000 sensors will be deployed to enable us to identify methane emissions, both fugitive and stationary, in real time and immediately implement the necessary corrective actions. This detection plan will be fully deployed by the end of 2025. TotalEnergies is determined to forge its reputation as a pioneer in real-time detection and pave the way for other industry stakeholders, in line with the spirit and ambition that reign within the OGDC.