Tecpetrol, a leading oil producer in Argentina, has announced its plans to venture into cryptocurrency mining by using associated gas. The Buenos Aires-based company operates in several LATAM countries including Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Colombia, and is set to generate electricity from associated gas in its oil fields near Vaca Muerta. The electricity generated will be used to power miners' rigs. Although the firm has not yet revealed which coins it intends to mine, it has partnered with a US-based company that performs similar functions. The company plans to commence its crypto mining operations between the end of October and the beginning of November, using gas from six of the fields' wells. Ricardo Markous, the Chief Executive Director of Tecpetrol, made this announcement. Argentinian oil producer to mine crypto with gas.
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These wells produce an estimated daily volume of 60,000 cubic meters of natural gas.
Pumping oil from most fields releases associate natural gas.
Usually, gas like this is flared or vented (burned) onsite, unless it can be moved on quickly to local production facilities.
![Flaring natural gasat a drilling site in the USA. (Source: Joshua Doubek [CC BY-SA 4.0])](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/93c827_661bf170441544fb802a7c80a3f184fd~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_77,h_102,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/93c827_661bf170441544fb802a7c80a3f184fd~mv2.png)
In situations where oil fields are situated in remote regions, utilizing this approach may not be feasible. Nonetheless, certain extraction companies aim to convert associated gas into on-site electrical energy. In Russia, oil companies have been conducting pilot cryptocurrency mining projects of a similar nature since the beginning of the decade.
The media outlet wrote:
“These oil fields are located in an isolated area. And they therefore lacks production treatment and evacuation facilities. At the moment, [Tecpetrol] sells part of the gas it extracts to Chevron. But there is a limit to the amount that it can sell, and that limit has already been reached.”
Markous added that using the gas would also help the firm speed up oil production at the site.
The firm added that it would use three generating facilities at the site, with all three facilities fitted with crypto mining rigs.
The CEO said:
“In one fell swoop, we will be able to [improve] the environment by not [flaring the] gas, and also mine cryptocurrencies.”
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.