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.

Report Shows at Least a Half Dozen Colorado-Based gas and Oil Firms Are Leveraging Gas-to-Bitcoin Mitigation Solutions

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.”