International oil and gas giant ConocoPhillips has finally joined the
Bitcoin (BTC) mining ecosystem as a way to eliminate wasteful burning
practices.
According to a report from CNBC Friday (18/02), the company is currently
operating a pilot scheme in the oil-rich Bakken region of North Dakota.
Instead of burning the excess gas, a by-product of drilling for oil known as
combustion, the company sells it to third-party Bitcoin miners to use as
fuel.
Talking about the environmental impact of routine burning, a representative
from the company stated that the decision to move to Bitcoin mining reflects
the company's overarching goal of reducing waste and ultimately eliminating
routine burning as soon as possible, by 2030 at the latest.
In a slide from the ConocoPhillips 2021 presentation, the company stated
that it has an ongoing focus on ensuring that gas capture projects achieve
zero routine combustion by 2025.
Bitcoin mining offers a unique and profitable solution to the problem of
routine burning, which occurs when a mining company accidentally hits a
natural gas formation while drilling for oil.
While oil can be siphoned off and collected at any location, harvesting
natural gas requires a pipeline infrastructure.
If miners strike the gas at a significant distance from the pipeline, the
company is forced to burn or ignite the gas which is ultimately an
unprofitable and environmentally harmful procedure.
Instead of letting gas go to waste, Bitcoin miners place shipping containers
or trailers filled with crypto mining equipment near oil wells and divert
the gas to generators that power the equipment.
ConocoPhillips did not disclose which Bitcoin miners it has sold, or how
long the initial trial has lasted.
Another US-based oil and gas explorer, Crusoe Energy, has also taken
advantage of Bitcoin mining as a way to profitably reduce emissions with
some 60 data centers and Bitcoin mining units powered by natural gas
diverted in their oil fields.
According to a report from Argus media, Crusoe Energy's technology reduces
CO2 equivalent emissions by 63% when compared to regular routine combustion.
In response to the widespread criticism of Bitcoin mining that usually stems
from environmental concerns, miners are becoming increasingly concerned with
finding new ways to utilize sustainable methods of excess energy.
Launching from Cointelegraph, the Bitcoin Mining Council forecasts a
sustainable energy mix of 58.5% for the global industry in the fourth
quarter of 2021. Miners in Norway are even using waste heat to dry wood.
