gas flaring – Idelto

Unnamed Sources Say Exxon Is Piloting a Bitcoin Mining Operation in North Dakota Using Flare Gas

On March 24, Bloomberg author Naureen S Malik reported that the largest American oil and gas corporation Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) is participating in piloting a bitcoin mining project with excess gas. Malik wrote that “people familiar with the matter” told Bloomberg that they could not be named because the information is not public. However, the people who asked to not be named said that currently, Exxon Mobil is working with Crusoe Energy Solutions in the state of North Dakota.

Crusoe Energy is a firm that provides oil and gas companies with a digital solution to natural gas flaring. Natural gas flaring takes place when an oil or gas firm processes oil from shale and the oil extraction process releases excess gas that is typically burned. Some oil firms have found ways to convert the flare gas into useful energy and Crusoe Energy helps gas companies use the flare gas to mine digital currencies like bitcoin (BTC).

Malik’s report says that Exxon Mobil’s pilot is taking place at an oil pad located near the Bakken shale basin. The people familiar with the matter further said the “bitcoin mining servers” used in the pilot program are operating on site. Moreover, the anonymous individuals told the Bloomberg reporter that Exxon Mobil is considering adding pilot programs that leverage flare gas to mine crypto in four different countries.

“Exxon, the largest U.S. oil producer, is considering similar pilots in Alaska, the Qua Iboe Terminal in Nigeria, Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale field, Guyana and Germany, one of the people said,” Malik’s report notes. Although, Malik contacted Crusoe Energy about the story and the reporter said the company “declined to comment.” Crusoe Energy Solutions is based in Denver Colorado, and the company system is called “digital flare mitigation technology” or DFM.

Equinor Reportedly Operated in North Dakota With Crusoe Energy, Report Further Shows Conocophillips Sold Excess Flare Gas to Mining Operations by the Bakken Shale Basin

There have been other times where there’s speculation abound concerning large gas companies mining bitcoin and reports shining a light on specific companies. In August 2020, Arcane Research leaked a number of screenshots from the publicly traded energy firm, Equinor. According to the report, the Norwegian state-owned energy company Equinor was also working with Crusoe Energy Solutions. Reportedly, Equinor’s collaboration with Crusoe in North Dakota was focused on reducing flaring from oil operations via bitcoin mining.

In addition to Equinor and Exxon, reports in mid-February indicated that Conocophillips was allegedly “selling extra flare gas to bitcoin miners in North Dakota.” The CNBC report said that Conocophillips also was working on a pilot in the Bakken shale basin region. CNBC author MacKenzie Sigalos wrote that Conocophillips did not disclose “which bitcoin miner it sells to, nor how long the pilot project has been underway.” However, Sigalos did say in the report that oftentimes a company like Crusoe Energy is used by the gas company.

Crusoe Energy is not the only company offering gas-to-bitcoin solutions as the firms Upstream Data and EZ Blockchain provide gas-to-bitcoin services as well. Greenidge Generation also uses excess gas to mine bitcoins instead of wasting or burning the energy. EZ Blockchain detailed last year in May that the company was working with an oil and gas provider from Texas, Silver Energy. At the time, EZ Blockchain said that Silver Energy set up a mining system in Alberta, Canada month earlier in February 2021.

What do you think about the individuals that claim Exxon is piloting a gas-to-bitcoin operation in North Dakota? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Publicly Listed Energy Firm Equinor Exploits Gas Flaring in North Dakota to Mine Bitcoin

Just recently, the firm Arcane Research recently revealed a number of screenshots from the publicly traded energy firm, Equinor. The pictures show the multinational company leveraging natural gas flaring to power bitcoin mining operations. In recent years, using the unorthodox gas flaring scheme to mine bitcoin has become more prominent worldwide.

The Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company Equinor (NYSE: EQNR) has recently announced joining the crypto economy, as the firm has partnered with Crusoe Energy Solutions to mine bitcoin. Equinor is a well known, publicly listed firm that is headquartered in Stavanger, but has operations in over 30 countries today.

According to information obtained by Arcane Research, Equinor’s collaboration with Crusoe in North Dakota is aimed at reducing flaring from oil operations via bitcoin mining.

Natural gas flaring has been an integral part of the world’s energy systems today, as it helps bolster the exploration and processing of oil from shale. To some observers, flaring is considered wasteful and undesirable to the environment, but it helps to ensure safety when using a flare during production testing after people drill a gas well or if shale oil is hydraulically fractured.

Flare gas systems are oftentimes a method of controlling wasted gas that cannot be efficiently processed or captured. However, in recent years firms like Upstream Data and Greenidge Generation are using the excess gas to mine bitcoins instead of wasting precious energy.

“Mining cryptocurrency requires a lot of electricity to power computers, while a valuable commodity is wasted, and carbon emissions are created when we flare,” Lionel Ribeiro the project’s leader said of the Equinor and Crusoe Energy Solutions partnership. Ribeiro continued by adding:

By connecting these inverse pains, we can satisfy both needs with no cost to market expense. It is a disruptive and scalable solution and shrinks the gap between the source of energy production and the final energy consumption while reducing our carbon footprint.

Crusoe Energy Solutions is based in Denver Colorado, and the company offers a system called “digital flare mitigation technology” or DFM. In December 2019, Crusoe saw $70 million funneled into the company, as Bain Capital and KCK Group led the equity funding round. The firm says that its digital flare mitigation infrastructure is a “scalable and flexible” service.

“[The] modular and portable systems are designed for the scale and throughput demands of the modern shale industry,” the company’s website details. “DFM systems are capable of processing up to millions of cubic feet of natural gas per day or as little as 50,000 cubic feet of natural gas per day. Systems operate effectively across a wide spectrum of gas compositions ranging from 750-2500 mmbtu/mcf.”

Crusoe also says the system boasts a significant amount of emissions reduction by utilizing “built-in emissions control technology and catalytic converters.” The DFM can “significantly reduce NOx, CO, VOC and methane emissions compared to flare exhaust streams,” Crusoe highlights.

The recent announcement details that flared gas being used for Equinor’s bitcoin mining is the byproduct of extracting oil from the Bakken oil field located in the U.S.

Since the year 2000, the Bakken Formation or basin has seen a massive boom in oil production. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing is a common business in the 200,000 square miles (520,000 km2) North Dakota basin.

Hans Jakob Hegge, the U.S. country manager for Equinor says the company must make bold choices in order to bolster cost-effectiveness and energy efficiency these days.

“Innovation remains a fundamental strategic pillar in achieving our climate roadmap ambition,” Hegge said. “[Equinor] must be bold in our approach to employing new technologies to improve business efficiency.”

What do you think about the Norwegian energy firm’s move to leverage gas flaring bitcoin mining solutions? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

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