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Argentina’s government-owned energy company has finalized a new Bitcoin (BTC) mining agreement that will enable the firm to utilize associated gas to operate 1,200 ASIC mining rigs in Patagonia.
According to the Spanish-language news source Criptonoticias, the arrangement involves the Argentinian state-owned entity Fiscal Petroleum Yacimientos (YPF) along with its YPF Luz subsidiary.
This agreement also includes the Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor and the Bitcoin mining enterprise Genesis Digital Assets Limited (GDA).
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YPF ranks as South America’s third-largest oil producer and is engaged in several exploratory oil drilling initiatives in Patagonia.
Exploratory oil drilling frequently results in the release of associated gas. Historically, many oil companies have opted to flare this gas.
However, in various regions globally, firms are now harnessing this gas to power cryptocurrency mining operations through thermal plants.
The YPF agreement will see the companies utilize a “mining farm” called Central Térmica Bajo del Toro, situated in Rincón de los Sauces, Neuquén.
A popular landmark in Rincón de los Sauces, Neuquén. (Source: Horacio Fernandez [CC BY 3.0])
Nationalized by the government in 2012, YPF has evolved into one of Argentina’s largest energy firms.
The companies will direct the gas to a thermal power facility with a total capacity of 8 MW.
They asserted that this initiative would aid in lowering greenhouse gas emissions, optimizing energy use, and monetizing associated gas.
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YPF indicated that the project would utilize gas that “would have otherwise been vented into the atmosphere.”
The oil company noted that this approach would mitigate the challenges associated with the “highly energy-intensive” BTC mining sector. It further stated:
“[The project will allow Bitcoin mining] without impacting the availability of the national electrical energy network. [It will] contribute to a more sustainable solution.”
YPF executives, senior government officials, and a US Embassy official visit the Vaca Muerta oil field in Western Argentina in 2014. (Source: US Embassy in Argentina [CC BY 2.0])
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Abdumalik Mirakhmedov, the Executive President of GDA, remarked that Argentina is “a significant country for Bitcoin mining.”
He stated that “due to its plentiful energy resources and its favorable business climate,” the country was a natural choice for miners. Mirakhmedov added:
“The launch of our first data center in South America is a crucial milestone in our geographic diversification efforts. This will provide another opportunity to demonstrate that Bitcoin mining can positively impact the environment and can be fully integrated into local communities.”
GDA operates approximately 20 Bitcoin mining farms across regions such as North America, Europe, and Central Asia, with over 180,000 mining rigs in operation globally.
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Mirakhmedov praised this initiative, GDA’s first in South America, as “a significant advancement” for the mining company.
YPF has been collaborating with cryptocurrency mining entities since 2022, when it began utilizing associated gas to power mining rigs.
Equinor also revealed plans to integrate crypto mining operations at sites in the Bakken oilfield in North Dakota in 2020.
In September 2023, another Argentina-based oil explorer, Tecpetrol, announced intentions to operate a crypto mining “farm” in the Vaca Muerta oil field in Western Argentina.
The post Argentina Energy Provider Seals New Bitcoin Mining Deal appeared first on Cryptonews.
