Amid Colorado’s Gas Flare Ban, Report Shows Half Dozen Gas and Oil Firms Are Raking in a Lot of Bitcoin

In November 2020, Colorado banned gas flaring, venting, and the release of raw gas into the atmosphere. While the centennial state has a large number of well sites, a recent report shows that roughly a half dozen Colorado oil and gas companies are leveraging gas-to-bitcoin flare mitigation systems and these firms are raking in a lot of bitcoin.

On August 29, 2022, the Colorado Sun author Mark Jaffe reported on Colorado-based gas and oil companies teaming up with bitcoin miners and explaining how “they’re making quite a bit of coin.” Jaffe details that there are at least a half dozen oil and gas refiners using gas-to-bitcoin flare mitigation systems in the natural gas-rich state of Colorado.

The growing number of bitcoin flare mitigation sites in Colorado is interesting because the state’s regulatory watchdog, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), has banned natural gas flaring. Essentially, if any oil and gas company chooses to operate in the state of Colorado, it must connect to a pipeline to mitigate the excess gas.

If an oil and gas firm cannot comply with the regulations, the COGCC will shut the operations down. Jaffe’s report explains that the COGCC is aware of these gas and oil firms leveraging gas-to-bitcoin solutions. A COGCC spokeswoman, Megan Castle, told the Colorado Sun (CS) journalist that “it is definitely on our radar.”

While some operations are “making quite a bit of coin,” Jaffe reports that some operations in Colorado have been shut down. For instance, the CS reporter noted that Renegade Oil and Gas collaborated with Datahawk Energy and Adams County’s oil and gas inspector shut the business down. A spokeswoman for Adams County, Christa Bruning, would not comment on the lawsuit that started over Renegade’s shutdown.

The CS report says the Houston-based D90 Energy is working with Crusoe Energy in Jackson County, Colorado. Jackson County has a lot of gas and oil production going on in the region, and much of the refinery work is located in the North Park Basin. D90’s president, Dan Silverman, told the COGCC at a hearing that sites like his have no connection infrastructure within 60 miles of the basin.

Silverman said that the oil had to be trucked away, however, D90 Energy gave a presentation to the commission showing off six Crusoe Energy flare gas mitigation modules located at the company’s well site. Silverman told the COGCC hearing’s participants that people will see “a lot more Crusoe modules out there” for a few years.

D90 Energy’s president further noted that over the next three to four years, the company plans to drill roughly seven well sites per year. Moreover, Crusoe has given presentations to the COGCC, according to the CS report on Monday.

Crusoe’s president and co-founder Cully Cavness explained at a June hearing that the company’s technology reduces 99.8% of methane compared to 93% for traditional flaring. Crusoe recently raised $505 million in April 2022 and three days ago it was reported that the company is suing a competitor company.

What do you think about the half dozen oil and gas companies in Colorado leveraging gas-to-bitcoin solutions? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.