On June 1, the Oman Investment Authority made an official tweet about their investment in Crusoe Energy’s $350 million Series C fundraising round. Crusoe Energy is the Denver-based business that pioneered reducing gas flaring through cryptocurrency mining.
Chase Lochmiller, the chief executive officer of Crusoe Energy, said the company will create an office in Muscat, Oman, in order to recover flared gas and use it for mining.
What is gas flaring?
The term “gas flaring” refers to the combustion of surplus gas produced during oil production. The technique is often criticised by environmental activists since it is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions.
Crusoe Energy claims that it can considerably cut flare-related emissions, but it is still far from becoming the darling of climate environmentalists, since Bitcoin mining is a highly energy-intensive operation that depends heavily on fossil fuels.
In March, Crusoe Energy partnered with U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil to develop a prototype project that would provide flared gas to Bitcoin miners.
Among Crusoe Energy’s customers are the Canadian oil company Enerplus and the Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy. It expects to launch its first gas-for-Bitcoin trial project in Oman in 2023.
The Bitcoin price is down 31.29% year-to-date, but Lochmiller maintains that the significant correction will have no impact on the company’s ambitious development ambitions.
