Argentina’s state-owned oil company starts mining bitcoins on residual gas

Energy for mining the first cryptocurrency is generated right at the drilling site

05.10.2022 - 10:25

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What’s new? YPF Luz, a subsidiary of Argentina’s state oil company YPF, has launched a pilot project to mine bitcoins using residual gas. The initiative, which is currently being tested at one of the country’s largest oil fields, Vaca Muerta, aims to use the byproduct generated during well drilling. According to Bitcoin.com, YPF Luz already has several customers, and they pay for the energy that is generated right on-site using generators.

Bitcoin.com’s material

More details about the initiative. YPF Luz CEO Martin Mandarano said that the first well is already generating 1 MWh, with the second project of about 8 MWh being developed in parallel.

The payment for such energy varies and is sometimes tied to the price of the asset mined. Also, given the nature of the operations, the equipment must be moved to new locations after the well is completed. In this, features of the design allow it to be dismantled and relocated in a short period of time.

As of October 5, 09:20 UTC, BTC is trading at $20 113, having gained 1,3% per day, according to crypto exchange Binance.

Earlier, it was reported that Russia’s bitcoin mining share on associated petroleum gas (APG) was 23%. The capacity of Russian mining farms running on APG reached 85 MW, and the average annual revenue of the industry exceeded 1 billion Russian rubles. Experts note that the new way of utilizing APG through bitcoin mining is the most profitable.

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