Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Nigeria LNG Limited, NLNG, has intensified its commitment to cutting methane emissions, unveiling new technologies and calling on the global oil and gas industry to step up collective action to address what it described as “a challenge no single operator can solve alone.”
Speaking at a high-level panel at the just concluded 2025 Gastech Conference in Milan, NLNG’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Philip Mshelbila, said the Company is embedding methane prevention measures into facility design, upgrading existing assets, and commissioning technologies to capture fugitive leaks.
Central to the push, he disclosed, is a new boil-off gas compressor system that is nearing completion.
“This system will capture and re-inject methane back into the value chain,” Mshelbila said.
“We know our baseline, we know where the leaks occur, and we measure whether our interventions are working. But the bigger challenge is how we get others in the industry to do the same. No single operator can solve this problem alone.”
Mshelbila stressed that prevention must be the cornerstone of methane management, urging industry peers to prioritise smarter plant design, improved pipelines and facilities, and timely upgrades of brownfield assets.
Highlighting NLNG’s track record, he noted that the company, which was set up 26 years ago to tackle Nigeria’s high gas flaring levels, has helped cut the country’s flaring volumes by over 40%.
“From inception, our mandate has been about monetising gas that would otherwise be wasted. Today, we are expanding that legacy to align with international best practices, such as the OGMP 2.0 framework, where we have maintained Gold Standard for two consecutive years,” he said.
He explained that methane accounts for about 60% of global emissions from human activity, with agriculture contributing 40%, while oil and gas account for just over 20%.
“If emissions from agriculture and waste are not addressed, gains made in oil and gas will be limited,” he warned. “But the oil and gas industry must lead by example.”
On barriers to progress, Mshelbila acknowledged the availability of technology but said affordability and regulatory gaps remain a problem.
“The technology is available, but not everyone can afford it. Financing, particularly for smaller operators, is a major hurdle. And in many developing countries, policies and regulatory frameworks for methane are far less developed than those for carbon dioxide. These are gaps the global industry must urgently close.”
He called for stronger collaboration across the energy value chain, from financing models that support smaller operators to the sharing of knowledge on advanced detection systems like satellites.
The 53rd edition of Gastech, the world’s largest platform for natural gas, LNG, hydrogen, and low-carbon solutions, brought together global leaders, experts, and innovators from 9–12 September in Milan to forge partnerships shaping the energy transition.
