As the price of Bitcoin rises and so does the hashrate, many are finding new ways to mine. On large scales, using natural gas has proven to be a profitable way of mining. And making use of old wells gives a whole new source of energy for mining.
EZ Smartbox 3.0 with 2,500 KW capacity, fully mobile solution deployed on the trailer
Modular rigs delivered on trucks, can be powered by special generators hooked up to old natural gas wells.
Map of orphaned natural gas wells, capped and no longer viable for export.
A few years back, I heard about this man that had access to an old natural gas well. It was capped off by the previous exploration company and deemed unviable at the time for any further extraction. He setup a generator and mining rigs, did all this without any permits and eventually got caught by a near by subdivision making a noise complaint when they could hear the noise of the miners during windy days when the wind was moving in a very certain direction. Otherwise he would have kept this operation going for longer.
During the fracking boom, many wells were drilled across the US. But as the price of fuel dropped these wells were capped and just left unused.
Well this man knew you could still use the well, but instead of extracting gas and oil for export. He would power a special generator designed for unrefined natural gas. These machines cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the power they produce can be well worth it with a free fuel source long term.
Here are some stats by a functional array producing power using these old wells using 19 gas generators.
Crypto mining in rural Pennsylvania is providing a new use for dying gas wells
Many of which are low-producing and economically unviable without alternative uses like Bitcoin and altcoin mining.
Here we can see a generator being delivered.
The operation faced issues as it initially ran without proper permits, leading to violations from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
Making use of flared gas:
https://www.innio.com/en/news-media/magazine/article/using-mined-gas-to-mine-cryptocurrency/
Flaring has been a longstanding practice in the oil extraction industry for reasons such as pressure relief and waste product removal.
Flared gas from oil production contributes significantly to greenhouse gases, with five countries responsible for over half of global flaring.
Digital Flare Mitigation (DFM) systems make wasted natural gas into electrical power, reducing emissions from both flaring and crypto mining.
DFM technology offers a 99.9% combustion efficiency for flared gas and is expected to reshape the oil and gas industry’s operational landscape by recapturing energy lost during this process.
The technology is currently powering 40 modular data centers across North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado using otherwise wasted natural gas.
https://techxplore.com/news/2021-05-flared-natural-gas-latest-prize.html
So lots is going on to try to use flared gas on active wells, and a resurgence in old gas wells being used for crypto mining.
Here is a flare gas generator for sale if you want to get started. $168,000.. only $128k if I buy 5.. sounds like a good deal.
Just need a gas well now... lol
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Very informative post thanks
yes no problem
This takes a while lot of work and money. I hope to mine btc someday
Indeed, it does.
I think repurposing things like that sounds like a really good play. It looks like Antrim county in Michigan or there abouts has quite a few. It makes sense as I know Enbridge has or had a big presence up there.
We do not have any near us, but I know they are all over the country. I am curious as the price of BTC rises, will we see more making use of old gas wells.
They are going to need to find a way to keep up with the increased resources needed. Maybe by then nuclear power will be more accessible.
Damn. That's a brilliant idea.
Maybe it will catch on more soon.
This would be an interesting experiment with methane from a landfill.
Indeed, I wonder if anyone has tried that yet.
Wow, really cool way to make use of these old wells. I am more than a little concerned about the roughly 2-3 MILLION abandoned and unplugged wells around the country. This just seems like a big problem waiting to happen ...or quietly already happening.
Yeah I think it could be really useful. Indeed, it was really interesting learning about what is going on with abandoned gas wells while I was doing my research.