ExxonMobil To Expand "Green" Bitcoin Mining Pilot Program That Leverages Excess Natural Gas
In what is becoming a more common industry practice, ExxonMobil, the United States’ largest oil and gas producer, has announced its plans to initiate a pilot Bitcoin mining program by rerouting excess natural gas, which would normally be flared or burned off, to its Qua Iboe Terminal in Nigeria to power Bitcoin mining.
By Andrew Senior
March 25th, 2022
ExxonMobil launched a pilot program in January 2021 employing excess natural gas that would normally be flared in North Dakota oil wells to instead power cryptocurrency mining operations.
The first foray into crypto mining was so successful that ExxonMobil is quickly making plans to expand the practice to additional sites with possible candidates in Alaska, Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale field, Guyana and Germany.
ExxonMobil has also come to an agreement with the software firm Crusoe Energy Systems to power its mobile generators which will power Bitcoin mining servers with gas produced from one of its oil wells.
ExxonMobil has a clearly stated goal to reduce its carbon footprint by turning excess natural gas into fuel for the crypto industry, thus providing an additional income source while being more environmentally friendly than flaring.
Oil and gas producers have come under increased scrutiny from regulators and investors alike to actively reduce their carbon footprint to to their part in fighting climate change.