Exxon Powering Bitcoin Mining using Gas. Is it safe?

Exxon Mobil, the Texas-based Oil and Gas giant, has a project to mine bitcoin with excess gas. As of now, this project has been running on excess gas which was produced.

The Project

Exxon Mobil has been working with Cruzoe Energy Systems to mine Bitcoin in North Dakota of the USA. The operation has been running since January 2021. According to CNBC, Exxon is diverting the gas that would be burnt in generators. This excess gas is being sent to shipping containers that contain hundreds of bitcoin miner rigs. It is however interesting to note that Exxon has not talked about this issue in the public.

Further, Conoco Phillips is running a similar project in Bakken in the same state.

Exxon claims that the type of operation it runs with bitcoin mining would help to reduce emissions. Rather than being fed to continuous flaring, the gas in bitcoin mining reduces emissions by 63%. However, there are still emissions being generated.

Environment Implications of Bitcoin Mining

Bitcoin has been criticized due to its high energy consumption to validate transactions. The cryptocurrency uses a validation method called proof of work, which is based on guessing a random number as a prefix to transactions. This operation consumes a lot of energy and was one of the major reasons many countries banned cryptocurrencies, including China. Further, the European parliament voted to discuss the energy implications of proof of work. Further, many countries are concerned about the global warming potential of bitcoin.