Russian oil company builds cryptocurrency mining farm in Siberia

The Russian oil company Gazpromneft, the oil subsidiary of Gazprom, is getting into different kind of mining, creating Bitcoin mining farm.

According to Coindesk, the company opened a venue where gas energy is used as a source for crypto mining. The site is located in the Khanty-Mansiysk region of northwestern Siberia.

During the oil drilling, surplus carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. The company transforms the gas into electricity, one of the greatest requirements in cyrptocurrency mining needed to power the mining rigs.

It seems like an unprecedented development, but the motivation behind the attempt is to recover wasted energy into profitable cryptocurrency.

A Gazpromneft spokesperson said they were ready to open its energy resources to Bitcoin miners. It has already guided a mining operation with the mining firm Vekus last autumn.

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Bitcoin mining farm in the US

It is not the first time this happens. Energy companies in the US are already using the gas to turn it into electricity for providing a power supply to the data centers generating revenue by mining Bitcoin, per Bloomberg.

As part of Russia, a company mined 1.8 BTC (about $60,000) using 49,500 cuvic meters of gas in the facility.

The St. Petersburg-based company is mulling over expanding its mining farm; however, it does not disclose the size of the future farm.