Paris, 11 October 2021 – As part of its effort for continuous progress and sustainable
development, TotalEnergies announces deployment of an innovative technology developed by
Qnergy, to significantly reduce methane emissions related to its operations on the Barnett gas
field in the United States.
An innovative and efficient technology
The solution proposed by Qnergy uses a technology allowing to convert methane powered
instrumentation to compressed air powered instrumentation, thus eliminating the release of
methane to the atmosphere during the process.
During a successful pilot project at the Barnett site in March 2021, Qnergy’s technology proved
to be reliable, simple to install and easy to operate, allowing it to eliminate up to 98% of the
methane venting emissions related to instruments using natural gas.
Following successful additional tests, TotalEnergies has decided to install this new
technology by deploying 100 units on the Barnett field in 2021 and 2022. The
deployment of 300 additional units throughout the field will reduce methane venting
emissions from pneumatic devices by approximately 7,000 tons a year by end 2024.
From now on, new developments on the Barnett field and across the Company will be designed
without instruments using natural gas.
“To fully play its role in the energy transition, notably as a substitute for coal, the integrated
natural gas chain must limit its methane emissions as much as possible. 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,” said
Carole Le Gall, Senior Vice President Sustainability & Climate at TotalEnergies.
Ory Zik, CEO of Qnergy, declared: “We are thrilled to support TotalEnergies’ global effort to
eliminate methane emissions from the natural gas supply chain. This 100-unit deployment is
one of the largest projects in the pneumatic devices sector. It marks the beginning of a new
scale of emission mitigation across this sector.”
Reducing methane emissions is a priority for TotalEnergies
TotalEnergies’ performance in reducing methane emissions is one of the best in the industry.
The company has cut its emissions by close to 50% since 2010, through actions focused on
different sources – such as flaring, venting and fugitive emissions – and by complying with
stringent design standards for new projects to ensure that methane emissions are close to
zero. The Company has already reduced routine flaring by more than 90% since 2010 and has
pledged to eliminate the practice by 2030.
TotalEnergies’ achieved to lower the methane emissions intensity of its operated gas facilities
to below 0.1% in 2020. The Company has now set an objective of a further 20% reduction of
absolute methane emissions from its operated oil and gas assets in 2025 compared to 2020.
In November 2020, TotalEnergies signed onto a second phase of the United Nations
Environment Programme’s Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP 2.0), supporting a
broader, more ambitious reporting framework extended to cover the entire gas value chain and
non-operated assets. The Company is also a signatory of the Methane Guiding Principles.
TotalEnergies is a founding member of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), a $1 billion
climate fund that has also invested in Qnergy