By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 20th, 2024
Oil and gas companies have always struggled when colliding with a natural gas buildup while drilling for oil. But it seems that Bitcoin mining can be particularly impressive here.
Last Wednesday, 200 oil and gas execs and Bitcoin (BTC) miners gathered in Houston to discuss the future prospects for Bitcoin mining. In particular, it was about pure fuel-powered mining that could employ natural gas and deal with the increasing electricity and energy requirements.
To start with, Texas is a good option for miners due to its crypto-friendly politicians, deregulated energy grid, as well as the abundance of cheap energy sources. And this is exactly what miners are looking for.
Hayden Griffin Haby III, oil and gas veteran who became an oilman Bitcoiner, stated:
“This is Texas, boys. We got what you need, so come on down. We are sitting on the energy capital of the world.”
Haby has spent 14 years in oil and gas, he ran his own oil company. However, in November 2020, he understood that Bitcoin is a must-have in his portfolio and shifted his focus to the mining business. For the last nine months, Haby has been purely taking part in BTC mining. He even co-founded Limpia Creek Technologies that powers Bitcoin mining rigs with flared, vented, and stranded natural gas assets.
He said:
“When I heard that you could make this much money per MCF (a metric used to measure natural gas), instead of just burning it up into the atmosphere, thanks to the whole ‘bitcoin mining thing,’ I couldn’t look away. You can’t unsee that.”
Another BTC proponent Parker Lewis, an executive at Bitcoin-native financial services firm Unchained Capital, is also contributing a lot to spread the adoption of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency. In May, the Houston Bitcoin Meetup consisted of only 20 people in a fluorescent-lit conference room in an office. Then, after Lewis decided to take part, the event caught attention of much more people. Last Wednesday’s meeting involved 200 participants.
Oil, Gas and Bitcoin
Oil and gas companies have always struggled when colliding with a natural gas buildup while drilling for oil. While it is easy to transport oil to far-flung destinations, gas distribution requires a pipeline. And the thing is that building a pipeline is both cost- and time-consuming. Besides, the gas well will not be large enough to warrant the time and expense of building an entirely new pipeline. If a driller cannot find a way to sell off natural gas reserves immediately, most look to dispose of it on site.
In terms of chemistry, one way is venting process that releases methane directly into the air. And this is extremely bad for the environment, as its greenhouse effect is much stronger than that of carbon dioxide. A more eco-friendly option is to incinerate it, or actually ignite the gas. And Bitcoin mining on the site can prove to be particularly impressive here. When methane is driven into an engine or generator, 100% of the methane is combusted, and there are no leaks or escapes into the air.
This was discussed at the meetup in Texas.