https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...taking-gas-to-bitcoin-pilot-to-four-countries Exxon Weighs Taking Gas-to-Bitcoin Pilot to Four Countries The oil giant launched its Bakken crypto pilot in January 2021 Miners are pushing to use ‘flared’ gas to power operations Source: Bloomberg By Naureen S Malik March 24, 2022, 8:38 AM PDT Exxon Mobil Corp. is running a pilot program using excess natural gas that would otherwise be burned off from North Dakota oil wells to power cryptocurrency-mining operations and is considering doing the same at other sites around the globe, according to people familiar with the matter. The oil giant has an agreement with Crusoe Energy Systems Inc. to take gas from an oil well pad in the Bakken shale basin to power mobile generators used to run Bitcoin mining servers on site, said the people, who asked to not be named because the information isn’t public. The pilot project, which launched in January 2021 and expanded in July, uses up 18 million cubic feet of gas per month that would have otherwise been burned off -- or flared -- because there aren’t enough pipelines. 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. “We continuously evaluate emerging technologies aimed at reducing flaring volumes across our operations,” and Exxon expects to meet the World Bank’s call to end routine flaring by 2030, spokeswoman Sarah Nordin said in an email. She declined to comment on “rumors and speculations regarding the pilot project.” Crusoe declined to comment. Oil and gas producers are increasingly under pressure from regulators and investors to reduce their carbon footprint to help combat climate change. That includes reducing the amount of gas they flare. At the same time, there is a rush of miners trying to use cheap gas in oil producing fields to fuel their operations. The gas is still burned, releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but the energy is put to use instead of simply being wasted. Last month, ConocoPhillips said that has been supplying gas from the Bakken shale in North Dakota to a Bitcoin mining firm for the first time. Shale oil produces so much excess gas that it ends up being vented into the air or burned off. Natural gas is comprised mostly of methane, a global warming agent that is more than 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide during its first two decades in the atmosphere. North Dakota, Colorado and Wyoming are among the first places to use crypto mining to slash methane emissions.
Shale oil produces so much excess gas that it ends up being vented into the air or burned off. Natural gas is comprised mostly of methane, a global warming agent that is more than 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide
I don't believe it's feasible. From what I read, these are "stranded" natural gas, too costly to transport or build piplelines for When they escape to the atmosphere, they are very destructive, so they flare them but not able to flare 100% of the gases These Bitcoin mining setup captures 100% of the gas Bitcoin is literally saving the environment PS: There's another thread on this with many articles, but may have escaped ET attention due to "political" stuff as it was being done in Texas This latest thread is about Exxon Mobil, the largest US Oil and Gas Company being involved
Sounds like a lot of carbon tax credits for XOM "The pilot project, which launched in January 2021 and expanded in July, uses up 18 million cubic feet of gas per month that would have otherwise been burned off -- or flared -- because there aren’t enough pipelines."
Because our national grid is highly inefficient and also in general the longer energy (in this case electricity) has to travel to get to end user the more energy is lost in the process. Wellheads typically are "out there". Population centers are not.
K, so how about connecting those generators into the plant that is flaring the gas, so that plant pulls less energy from the grid? Why does it need to be used to power a BTC server farm?
Wellhead, not plant. Flaring is done at both. Refineries are, for the most part, where populations centers. Think Texas or North Dakota prairies in the case of wellheads. Not Jersey Turnpike with the refineries you smell miles before you see them. lol.
But it is a source of power. If it can power bitcoin miners it should be able to power other industries. Seems a waste to flare it when it can be put to some kind of use.