By Alicia Maher
Oil and mining companies have started to plan for the future to mitigate the effect of carbon emissions on the climate. ConocoPhillips, a prominent gas company, has joined the clique of those seeking to reduce carbon footprint by venturing into mining.
ConocoPhilips has bought into the idea of saving planet earth by reducing flaring. The company thought it best to go into cryptocurrency mining to achieve that.
ConocoPhillips Tests Out BTC Mining Operation in North Dakota
CNBC reports that ConocoPhilips is testing its mining operation in Bakken, an oil-rich site in North Dakota. The corporation disclosed that it had decided to sell flaring to a miner for fuel instead of burning it. Flaring is a by-product of burning natural gas during oil drilling.
Speaking about the impacts of gas flaring, the company revealed that venturing into BTC mining is a reflection of its objective to minimize and possibly zero down flaring by the latest 2030. According to ConocoPhillips, it is focused on making sure that its projects are zero-carbon dependent by 2025.
Crypto mining proved to be the best and most profitable solution to the issue of gas flaring. Natural gas is unlike oil. While you can transfer oil from one reservoir to another by exerting hydrostatic pressure on the pipe, natural gas demands pipelines.
Should operatives strike gas at any major length from the pipeline, the company will be mandated to burn the gas, which is unhealthy and unprofitable. However, that won’t be the case since ConocoPhilips has a solution in crypto mining.
To reduce waste, miners would have to place their mining equipment close to the oil well and transfer the gas into the generators to power the hardware. The company didn’t reveal any further details on the crypto miner it sells the gas to or the time spent on the experiment.
ConocoPhillips Joins Crusoe Energy In Leveraging Crypto Mining to Minimize Emissions
ConocoPhilips isn’t the first oil and gas corporation to capitalize on the idea of using crypto mining to reduce flaring profitably. Crusoe Energy, also based in the United States, thought it best to utilize BTC mining to minimize emissions.
Crusoe Energy has several data and mining centers powered by natural gas from the oil sites. Reports have it that its technology is so effective that it reduces CO2 and related emissions by 63%.
Crypto mining has drawn criticisms from environmental experts due to its adverse impacts on climate. Bitcoin miners continue to seek new ways to deploy more sustainable energy methods to mitigate the effects of mining on the environment.