Norwegian National Oil Company Equinor Uses Bitcoin Mining to Reduce Carbon Emissions

One of the largest energy suppliers on the planet, Norwegian state oil company Equinor , aims to reduce carbon emissions by partnering with Crusoe Energy Solutions. Equinor will sell electricity generated from waste natural gas to Crusoe Energy, which will use it to mine bitcoin.

Energy suppliers would normally “flare” this excess natural gas, often releasing thousands of tons of carbon into the atmosphere each year. By mining Bitcoin, Equinor can immediately use the excess natural gas to generate electricity, power the Bitcoin mining equipment itself and its cooling, making full use of the excess energy.

Who says Bitcoin is bad for the environment?

Bitcoin’s massive energy consumption is often used to discredit the cryptocurrency mining industry. However, we are increasingly seeing miners finding ways to reduce their own electricity costs (and by extension, operating costs) by finding excess energy.

Crusoe Energy's plan to buy electricity generated by Equinor using excess natural gas in North Dakota's Bakken oil field is the latest example of this partnership.

Crusoe Energy would then use the electricity to mine bitcoin. This would provide Equinor with a financial incentive to generate electricity from the gas rather than just burning it.

Crusoe Energy called the initiative “mitigation of digital flares”. The news came from a version of the Equinor intranet cited in a report by Arcane Research.

The company hopes the partnership will significantly reduce routine flaring at the site. The goal is to eventually meet the World Bank’s “Routine Zero Flaring by 2030” initiative. The release states that the site currently emits about 20,000 tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year.

Crusoe Energy is offering a simple solution to the problem of well expansion when drilling for oil and gas, without requiring energy companies to invest heavily in new infrastructure.

Equinor itself does not mine Bitcoin. It simply sells the petroleum gas energy to Crusoe Energy , which handles all exposure to the mined crypto assets.

Calling the partnership a “natural” one, Lionel Ribeiro, Equinor’s project lead, said of the initiative: “ Mining cryptocurrencies requires huge amounts of electricity to power supercomputing servers, while valuable petroleum gas commodities go to waste and create carbon emissions when we burn them. By connecting these alternative energy solutions, we can meet both needs at once, without going to market cost.”