Nigeria LNG Limited has urged gas producers to treat methane reduction as a commercial priority, arguing that recovering gas that would otherwise be lost can improve revenue, plant efficiency and environmental performance at the same time.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Adeleye Falade made the case at Gastech 2026 in Bangkok, where he said methane abatement should be viewed as an energy-efficiency and revenue-recovery opportunity rather than only as an environmental obligation.
Falade said every tonne of methane released represents lost product and lost income.
He cited NLNG’s boil-off gas compressor and start-up gas recovery projects as examples of investments designed to reduce emissions while generating commercial returns.
The company expects each project to cut methane emissions by about 10 to 15 per cent.
Falade said both projects had positive projected net present values, indicating that expected financial benefits exceed their costs over their operating lives.
He argued that the same operational discipline required to reduce methane leakage could also improve plant reliability and efficiency.
Falade said accurate measurement was central to the company’s methane strategy because operators needed reliable data to identify losses, prioritise interventions and measure results.
NLNG has received Gold Standard recognition under the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 and says it was the first company in Africa to achieve Level 5 methane-emissions reporting.
The company’s measurement and verification system is independently assured by DNV under ISO 14064.
Falade said NLNG had deployed optical gas imaging and a structured leak-detection and repair programme and was progressively introducing continuous monitoring and real-time dashboards across its assets.
Methane reduction is also being incorporated into the design of Train 7, which is expected to raise NLNG’s production capacity from 22 million tonnes per annum to 30 million tonnes.
Falade said Nigeria’s gas-flaring rate had fallen from more than 65 per cent historically to below 20 per cent, partly because gas that would previously have been flared had been monetised through LNG projects.
He described that shift as an early demonstration of how emissions reduction can create commercial value.
NLNG is also expanding its focus beyond its own facilities by engaging feed-gas suppliers and contractors on emissions measurement and reduction.
Falade said methane intensity was becoming increasingly relevant to procurement, finance and buyer confidence.
He called for stronger and more consistent global standards, warning that differences in methodologies could make comparison and enforcement difficult.
At the same time, he argued that developing economies should not be forced to choose between energy access and emissions reduction.
He said both objectives needed to progress together through credible measurement, investment in gas recovery and consistent standards across the supply chain.
