Gas To Bitcoin? Inside Exxon Mobil's Pilot Program To Power Cryptocurrency Mining

The leading oil producer in the U.S. is exploring using excess natural gas for cryptocurrency mining. Here’s the latest.

What Happened: A pilot program was launched by Exxon Mobil Corp XOM in January 2021. The company is running it in North Dakota using excess natural gas to power cryptocurrency mining.

Exxon Mobil is now considering expanding the pilot program to additional sites around the world, Bloomberg reported.

The oil company has an agreement with Crusoe Energy Systems, which uses gas to power Bitcoin BTC/USD mining servers.

Around 18 million cubic feet of gas are currently used monthly in the pilot program. The gas would be burned off if not used for this purpose, according to the report. The pilot program keeps the gas from being “flared,” which is the burning of natural gas from oil extraction.

New locations mentioned for Bitcoin mining using gas include Alaska, Nigeria, Argentina, Guyana and Germany.

Related Link: How To Buy Bitcoin 

Why It’s Important: There are increasing calls on oil companies to lower their carbon footprint, including limiting the amount of gas that is flared.

Cryptocurrency mining still burns the gas, but puts the energy to a new use instead of being wasted.

Miners are searching for cheap energy sources to power their mining operations, which could create a win-win for oil companies and miners. 

ConocoPhillips COP is also using gas for Bitcoin mining in North Dakota.

The move of turning gas into Bitcoin comes as Russia is open to accepting Bitcoin for its natural gas and oil exports, bringing the lifecycle of gas and Bitcoin full circle.

BTC Price Action: Bitcoin is trading at $43,862.82 at publication Thursday afternoon.

Photo: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay