According to a recent storey citing sources familiar with the situation, Exxon Mobil Corporation is purportedly engaged in a pilot operation that uses excess natural gas to power crypto mining machines. According to the storey, the oil giant is collaborating with Crusoe Energy Systems on the pilot, which is reportedly taking place in North Dakota’s Bakken shale field.
Exxon Is Piloting a Bitcoin Mining Operation in North Dakota Using Flare Gas, According to Unnamed Sources
On March 24, Bloomberg columnist Naureen S Malik revealed that Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), the largest American oil and gas company, is launching a bitcoin mining operation using surplus gas. According to Malik, “sources familiar with the subject” informed Bloomberg they could not be identified since the material is not public. However, the individuals who requested anonymity stated that Exxon Mobil is presently collaborating with Crusoe Energy Solutions in the state of North Dakota.
Crusoe Energy is an oil and gas company that provides a digital solution for natural gas flaring. Natural gas flaring occurs when an oil or gas company extracts oil from shale and the process produces excess gas, which is often burned. Certain oil companies have discovered techniques to turn flare gas into useable energy, and Crusoe Energy assists gas companies in mining digital currencies such as bitcoin using flare gas (BTC).
According to Malik’s claim, Exxon Mobil is conducting the pilot at an oil pad near the Bakken shale basin. Additionally, sources acquainted with the situation stated that the pilot program’s “bitcoin mining servers” are operational on-site. Additionally, the unidentified individuals told the Bloomberg reporter that Exxon Mobil is exploring expanding pilot operations in four other nations that use flare gas to mine cryptocurrency.
“Exxon, the largest oil company in the United States, is exploring comparable pilots in Alaska, Nigeria’s Qua Iboe Terminal, Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale field, Guyana, and Germany, according to one of the people,” Malik’s storey states. Although Malik reached out to Crusoe Energy for comment on the article, the reporter was told the firm “declined to respond.” Crusoe Energy Solutions is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, and its solution is referred to as “digital flare mitigation technology,” or DFM.
Equinor reportedly collaborated with Crusoe Energy in North Dakota, as the report demonstrates. Conocophillips Sold Excess Flare Gas to Bakken Shale Mining Operations
There have been previous instances in the past when talk abounds about huge gas firms mining bitcoin and reports shed light on specific companies. Arcane Research leaked a lot of pictures from Equinor, a publicly traded energy company, in August 2020. Equinor, Norway’s state-owned energy utility, was also collaborating with Crusoe Energy Solutions, the article stated. Equinor reportedly collaborated with Crusoe in North Dakota to reduce flare from oil operations through bitcoin mining.
Along with Equinor and Exxon, reports in mid-February revealed that Conocophillips was allegedly “selling excess flare gas to North Dakota bitcoin miners.” According to CNBC, Conocophillips was also developing a pilot in the Bakken shale basin region. According to MacKenzie Sigalos of CNBC, Conocophillips did not identify “whose bitcoin miner it sells to or the duration of the test project.” However, Sigalos stated in the study that the gas firm frequently uses a company like Crusoe Energy.
Crusoe Energy is not the only company offering gas-to-bitcoin conversion services; Upstream Data and EZ Blockchain also do so. Additionally, Greenidge Generation uses extra gas to mine bitcoins rather than squandering or burning it. EZ Blockchain disclosed in May of last year that it was collaborating with Silver Energy, a Texas-based oil and gas company. EZ Blockchain reported at the time that Silver Energy had established a mining system in Alberta, Canada a month earlier in February 2021.
Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.
