Calgary company eyes power generation for bitcoin mining as stranded oil and gas well solution

A Calgary company that uses stranded oil and gas assets to power its own bitcoin mines says Alberta’s enthusiasm for new investment in data centres can play a role in solving some of the province’s worries around old wells.

New West Data Corp. buys up wells that are producing oil and gas, but the natural gas side of the operation is uneconomic, generally because of a lack of infrastructure to transport it off-site. The company then installs small, natural-gas-fired electricity generators at the sites to power mines.