By Francis Ajuonuma
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has deployed a digital methane emissions tracking platform to strengthen regulatory enforcement and support Nigeria’s target of cutting methane emissions by 60 per cent by 2035.
The Commission received the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Emission Tracker (NOGIET), a technology platform designed to improve the detection, measurement, reporting and monitoring of methane emissions across the oil and gas industry.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Head, Media and Corporate Communications, NUPRC, Eniola Akinkuotu, said the platform was developed through a partnership involving the Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN), with financial and technical support from the Global Methane Hub (GMH).
NOGIET was formally handed over to NUPRC Chief Executive, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja. Executive Commissioner, Health, Safety, Environment and Community, Captain John Tonlagha, represented the CCE at the event.
According to the statement, the platform will support 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 move from estimation-based to measurement-based emissions reporting by the first quarter of 2027, raising the importance of accurate and independently verifiable emissions data.
Eyesan said NOGIET would integrate satellite-based methane plume detection, regulatory mapping of oil blocks and pipelines, and facility-level emissions measurements to identify emission hotspots and discrepancies in reported data.
The CCE said the system would also enable the Commission to prioritise inspections and strengthen compliance monitoring, while improving the credibility, consistency and reliability of emissions data.
“NOGIET integrates satellite-based methane plume detection, regulatory mapping of oil blocks and pipelines, and facility-level emissions measurements,” Eyesan said.
The platform is designed for use by both NUPRC and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), creating a coordinated framework for methane management across the petroleum industry.
SDN Board Chairman, Mr Inemo Samiama, said the platform’s ability to compare satellite observations with facility-level measurements would enable regulators to identify discrepancies and support evidence-based enforcement.
“SDN hands over NOGIET in full, front end and back end, at no cost to the Commission,” Samiama said, adding that the platform would ultimately move to an NUPRC subdomain.
He said the system was deliberately designed to cover the entire oil and gas sector because “methane does not stop at the boundary between upstream and downstream.”
NUPRC said the initiative aligns with Nigeria’s commitments to reduce methane emissions, eliminate routine gas flaring and achieve net-zero emissions by 2060.
