France's TotalEnergies and Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR have signed a Cooperation Agreement to carry out drone-based methane detection and measurement campaigns, Trend reports via TotalEnergies. A first campaign will be conducted on the Absheron gas field, while the subsequent campaigns will be launched on SOCAR's assets in Azerbaijan. These campaigns will be carried out using the AUSEA technology (Airborne Ultralight Spectrometer for Environmental Applications) developed by TotalEnergies and its R and D partners, which enables a high accuracy detection and quantification of methane emissions from oil and gas facilities. AUSEA consists of a miniature dual sensor mounted on a drone, capable of detecting methane and carbon dioxide emissions, while at the same time identifying their source. This technology has been developed by TotalEnergies, the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and University of Reims Champagne Ardenne, and is considered to be currently the most accurate technolo gy in the world to detect and measure methane emissions. The Absheron gas condensate field, situated approximately 100 km southeast of Baku in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, is operated by JOCAP. The first gas from the Absheron field began flowing in early July of this year. SOCAR anticipates that Absheron's production in 2023 will reach 1.8 million barrels of oil and 707 million cubic meters of natural gas. The Absheron field's launch represents the most significant Azerbaijani oil and gas development since Shah Deniz II. Source: Trend News Agency