KEY POINTS
- Eni and Sonatrach have expanded cooperation to reduce emissions from Algeria’s oil and gas industry.
- A joint LDAR campaign monitored about 7,500 pipeline points across 800 kilometres, helping cut fugitive emissions.
- The new agreement adds methane reduction, international emissions standards and forestry-based carbon removal projects to the partnership.
Italian energy company Eni and Algeria’s state-owned oil and gas giant Sonatrach have expanded their cooperation on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from Algeria’s oil and gas industry.
The two companies signed a new Memorandum of Intent aimed at accelerating decarbonisation efforts across the country’s energy sector.
The agreement will focus particularly on reducing methane emissions, tackling gas flaring and improving the environmental performance of upstream oil and gas operations.
The latest agreement builds on a three-year Memorandum of Intent signed by the companies in January 2023.
That earlier partnership focused on reducing gas flaring, recovering and making better use of gas that would otherwise be wasted, and cutting emissions generated during upstream activities
Under the new agreement, Eni and Sonatrach will broaden their collaboration beyond emissions reduction from oil and gas facilities.
The companies will explore natural carbon dioxide removal initiatives, including forestry projects designed to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They will also strengthen efforts to measure, quantify and reduce methane emissions in line with internationally recognised standards for the oil and gas industry.
Methane is a particularly important target because, although it remains in the atmosphere for a shorter period than carbon dioxide, it has a much stronger warming effect.
Detecting and repairing methane leaks can therefore provide relatively rapid emissions reductions while also preventing the loss of commercially valuable natural gas.
Thousands of pipeline points monitored for leaks
One of the major achievements under the previous cooperation programme was the implementation of a Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) campaign.
The joint campaign covered approximately 800 kilometres of pipelines and involved monitoring around 7,500 points for potential sources of fugitive emissions. The exercise helped identify and reduce emissions caused by leaks and other uncontrolled releases.
Following the success of the programme, LDAR measurement campaigns are now being conducted routinely and independently across joint ventures operated by Eni and Sonatrach.
The companies’ approach is intended to ensure that emissions monitoring becomes a regular part of oil and gas operations rather than a one-off exercise.
The cooperation programme has also included joint technical studies, field visits and capacity-building initiatives.
These activities have helped train technicians to carry out emissions measurements directly at operational sites while allowing specialists from both companies to identify areas where emissions can be reduced.
The assessments examined several opportunities, including cutting fugitive and venting emissions, improving energy efficiency, expanding renewable energy use, reducing gas flaring and evaluating the potential for carbon capture, utilisation and storage.
