The Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited, has called on the global gas industry to make methane reduction a business priority, stressing that every tonne of methane released into the atmosphere represents lost revenue and gas that could otherwise reach the market.
NLNG’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Adeleye Falade, made the call at the Gastech 2026 Exhibition and Conference in Bangkok, during a panel session titled, “Capturing the Lost Opportunity: Driving Global Alignment on Methane Abatement Across Natural Gas Supply Chains.”
Falade said NLNG’s approach begins with measuring methane losses and using the findings to guide investment in leak prevention and gas recovery, with independent verification to ensure credible reporting. He urged the industry to shift the conversation from the cost of methane reduction to the value it creates, noting that preventing gas losses serves both commercial and environmental objectives.
“Every tonne emitted is lost product, lost revenue and lost energy; gas we could have sold. Every molecule of methane avoided is both an emissions reduction and a recovered energy resource,” he said.
Falade cited NLNG’s new boil-off gas compressor and start-up gas recovery project as examples of investments supporting the company’s approach. According to him, each project targets methane reductions of approximately 10 to 15 per cent and has a positive projected net present value, meaning the anticipated financial benefits are expected to exceed the costs over the life of the projects.
“The most compelling business case is the simplest one: the projects that cut our methane also pay for themselves. The same discipline that reduces methane also improves asset reliability and plant efficiency. The returns show up in more places than the emissions ledger.” Falade said.
The NLNG chief executive explained that credible measurement underpins the company’s investment decisions, enabling it to identify methane losses, direct resources to appropriate interventions and assess results. He said NLNG’s experience demonstrates that gas producers in developing economies can establish globally trusted emissions-reporting systems by investing in monitoring infrastructure, building reporting capabilities and submitting their data to independent scrutiny.
Falade highlighted NLNG’s Gold Standard recognition under the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership, OGMP 2.0, saying the company was the first in Africa to achieve Level 5 methane emissions reporting. He added that NLNG’s measurement, reporting and verification, MRV, system is independently assured by DNV in accordance with ISO 14064.
The company’s methane-management approach includes site-wide optical gas imaging, a structured Leak Detection and Repair programme, as well as the phased deployment of continuous monitoring and real-time dashboards across its plant and vessels.
Falade said credible measurement is a function of commitment and not geography, stressing that NLNG had demonstrated that the required standards could be achieved in Africa. He noted that the company had not waited for perfect infrastructure before taking action, but had prioritised credible measurement, invested in appropriate technology and strengthened its reporting through independent verification.
According to him, the lesson for the industry is to raise standards across the sector rather than lower expectations for producers in emerging economies.
Falade further disclosed that methane reduction is being incorporated into the design of NLNG’s Train 7 project, which is expected to increase the company’s LNG production capacity from 22 million to 30 million tonnes per annum.
At the national level, he said NLNG’s longstanding role in monetising gas that would otherwise have been flared had helped reduce Nigeria’s gas-flaring rate from over 65 per cent to under 20 per cent. He described the conversion of wasted gas into a marketable product as the original commercial case for emissions abatement.
Falade added that credible emissions data is becoming increasingly important beyond plant operations, as methane intensity influences procurement decisions, financing and buyer confidence. He said this has made it necessary for NLNG to extend the discipline of measurement and reduction throughout its supply chain.
Through its formal Scope 3 Advocacy Plan, the company engages feed-gas suppliers and contractors to measure, disclose and reduce emissions.
NLNG also sources verified upstream emissions data from its feed-gas producers and incorporates environmental, social and governance considerations, alongside emissions criteria, into supplier selection and evaluation.
On regulation, Falade called for greater consistency across jurisdictions, noting that differences in measurement methods and reporting requirements make enforcement uneven and meaningful comparisons more difficult.
“The industry does not need weaker standards; it needs stronger, shared ones backed by real measurement,” Falade said.
Addressing the balance between climate ambition, energy access and affordability, he said NLNG’s operations support Nigeria’s goals of net-zero emissions by 2060 and zero routine flaring by 2030. He stressed that progress on emissions reduction must go hand in hand with meeting the energy needs of households and businesses.
“Developing economies cannot be asked to choose between economic development and emissions reduction. Both must progress together,” he said.
Falade said NLNG’s approach brings together the practical requirements of energy supply and emissions management by measuring losses credibly, investing in gas recovery and applying the same standards across the value chain. The NLNG Managing Director was joined on the panel by Zubin Bamji of the World Bank, Niels Dijksman of Brunei LNG and Hiroyuki Mori of JOGMEC.
The session was moderated by Dr. Carole Nakhle, an energy economist with Crystol Energy.
