- United States oil company Crusoe Energy will help Oman in its goal of reducing gas emissions by using the natural resource as an energy source for Bitcoin (BTC) mining.
- Gas flaring results in more than 400 million tons of CO2 equivalent emissions per year.
- If the natural gas obtained from the production of crude oil is used as a source of energy for mining cryptocurrencies, it will be adding productivity to the resource that would otherwise be burned.
Much has been discussed about the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining and, usually, they position it as one of the most polluting economic activities that occur on planet Earth.
Actually heContamination problems extend far beyond BTC.
Gas burning, a wasted energy
Gas flaring is an activity that is often carried out for economic reasons. It is necessary to keep in mind that hydrocarbons are a mixture of various components, including crude oil and natural gas.
Thus, when the hydrocarbon is extracted, both crude oil and natural gas are obtained. So what do oil companies do that are not interested in producing natural gas? Simple, they burn it.
Natural gas flaring persists today as it is a relatively safe method of removing associated gas from crude oil production.
The question is, why not sell the associated gas instead of burning it?? Well, because the oil production industry is capital intensivetherefore, the use of associated gas it requires economically viable markets for the company to make the necessary investments to capture, transport, process and sell the gas.
On the other hand, heAlternative associated gas removal methods are often more costly when compared to simply removing the gas through flaring.
But what does associated gas burning consist of? Yes, it literally burns. In other words, special combustion installations, known as flare stacks, are usually used, which combine free air with the gases that are burned to improve combustion efficiency. This burning, being in the air, releases into the atmosphere toxic pollutants such as sulfur dioxide.
According to World Bankit is estimated thate this activity translates into more than 400 million tons of CO2 equivalent emissions per year. But, in addition, methane emissions contribute significantly to global warming and according to Bloombergthe The Middle East and North Africa account for about 38% of gas flaring around the world.
Crypto mining is an option
Once we understand that gas flaring is unproductive and polluting, but that its sale requires very specific conditions, we can understand why mining is proving to be so attractive.
In the end, If natural gas obtained from crude oil production is used as a source of energy for cryptocurrency mining, it will be adding productivity to the resource that would otherwise be burned.
In this senseBloomberg He reported that Crusoe Energy, known for repurposing wasted fuel energy for computational power from crypto mining, would begin its work in Oman.
For those who don’t know, Oman is a country in the Middle East rich in gas and, therefore, exports approximately 21% of its production from this resource. However, the country aims to reduce gas flaring to zero by 2030.
According to Bloomberg, the Oman Investment Authority, the country’s surplus wealth fund, was part of Crusoe Energy’s funding round in April. Consequently, Crusoe plans to open an office in Muscat, Oman, to help the country deploy power generators and mining equipment to capture gas that is extracted from oil wells.
“Oman commits to reduce greenhouse gases in accordance with the Paris climate agreementIsmail Ibrahim Al-Harthi, senior manager of technology investments at the Oman Investment Authority, said in an email with Bloomberg.
For his part, Chase Lochmiller, Executive Director of Crusoe Energy, assured that they are seeking to obtain the “acceptance of nations that are actively trying to solve emerging problems”.
Is using gas in crypto mining really better?
This is a widely debated topic around the world. One must not lose sight of the fact that, although gas is being used that would otherwise be wastedfossil fuels are being used for crypto mining and, therefore, it is still polluting.
Obviously Crusoe Energy has sought to focus on those oil producing companies that are located in remote areas and where it is not economically feasible to build infrastructure to reduce associated gas flaring.
So yes, cryptocurrency mining is a viable alternative aimed at reducing associated flaring gases. However, it is still debated whether the medicine is better than the disease.
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