Oman is starting a pilot with bitcoin mining to limit the emissions of excess and climate-unfriendly gases released during oil extraction. It is a result of an investment by the Oman Investment Authority in Crusoe Energy, which supplies the mining equipment and will soon open an office in Oman.
‘Flaring’, or flaring in Dutch, is a major climate problem. Oil extraction also produces a lot of natural gas as a by-product. Especially methane, which if released into the atmosphere is 25 times more harmful to the climate than CO2.??
It is often not economically viable to remove or collect the gas and there is no local application for it. That is why it used to be released into the air (venting), but to limit climate damage it is nowadays usually burned (flaring).
Incineration is slightly better, but still very bad for the climate. CO2 is released during combustion and sometimes other harmful substances as well. Moreover, part of the gas does not burn.
Flaring and venting together are responsible for 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions. 8% of global gas production is wasted in this way.
Oman
Because of the climate goals, oil-rich Oman signed an agreement with the World Bank to reduce flaring to zero by 2030. As part of this, Oman will start a pilot next year in which the excess gases will be used for bitcoin mining, Bloomberg reported.
It is the result of an investment by the government investment fund Oman Investment Authority in the American Crusoe Energy, which specializes in mobile mining equipment.
?ǣOman is committed to reducing greenhouse gases, in line with the Paris Climate Agreement,?ǥ said Ismail Ibrahim Al-Harthi, senior manager of Technology Investments at the Oman Investment Authority.
Crusoe Energy
Crusoe Energy supplies ‘Digital flare mitigation units’. These are movable containers with generators and mining equipment that are connected to the excess gas on site.
The gas is collected in order to generate energy as efficiently as possible, which is used to mine bitcoins. This changes the excess gas from an undesirable and climate-unfriendly cost item to an economic advantage that stimulates the reduction of emissions.
The Oman Investment Authority first invested in Crusoe Energy last year and again in April. In total, Crusoe Energy raised more than half a billion dollars in April, but it is unknown how large the share of the Oman Investment Authority is.
Muscat
In any case, so big that Crusoe Energy is opening an office in the Omani capital Muscat. ?ǣIt has always been important to us to have a presence in the Middle East and North Africa region ,?ǥ said Crusoe Energy CEO Chase Miller.
About 38% of global flaring takes place in this region. “That countries that are actively working to solve the flaring problems buy in is what we are looking for ,” Lochmiller said.
Last week, Crusoe Energy hosted a workshop in Oman with some of the country’s largest oil producers, including OQ SAOC and Petroleum Development Oman. According to Lochmiller, the first pilot will start at the end of this year or early next year.
Other places are also experimenting with bitcoin mining as a solution against flaring. Oil companies such as ExxonMobil, ConocoPhilips, Equinor and Gazprom have been conducting pilots for some time now.
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ry: Javier Blas/Wikimedia & aka CJ
