Gazpromneft has begun a cryptocurrency mining operation based in one of its Siberian oil drilling sites unlocking the power of Russia's oil and gas resources for the needs of bitcoin mining. The new mining operation will be powered by natural gas from the oil field, located in the Khanty-Mansiysk region of northwestern Siberia, which has its own power plant to convert the gas into electricity for Bitcoin production. The CO2 that gets freed during the oil drilling is normally a liability for oil companies as they have to burn it into the atmosphere, which results in fines. They have found ways to utilize it instead of wasting it, and electricity generation is one of them. The location of the new Russian Bitcoin farm also means that the costs of the operation will be relatively low. Instead of paying a premium to use energy from the grid, locating the cryptocurrency mining on-site at an oil field means that a steady supply of natural gas is virtually free.
