Can Marathon Digital Holdings collocate Bitcoin mining units in the oilfield with Exxon Mobil and Saudi Aramco and have an exploratory talk to directly tap the Flare-gas?
Crypto Twitter believes it is possible, and if confirmed, the partnership could turbocharge the scale and legitimacy of inter-gas operations, turning waste methane into a monetized digital asset while addressing ESG concerns.
Marathon Stock Pumper Crypto believes that “at least one of these scenarios is likely to unfold in the next six to 12 months for $MARA.”
While neither officially announced the deal, Marathon CEO Fred Thiel suggested a “discussion with some of the world’s biggest energy companies” in a revenue call in May, adding that “chunks of the generation of flare gas” will soon arrive online.
This timing coincides with Aramco’s May 2025 announcement of 34 new Mous with US companies, following Exxon’s previous pilot with Crusoe energy in North Dakota.
Pilot is demonstrated and ready to expand
Marathons don’t start from scratch. In late 2024, he launched a 25-megawatt pilot in Texas, using chain-covered shale gas to avoid grid competition while qualifying for methane reduction credits. “The AI guys are ready to pay almost every price for energy,” Tiel told Reuters. “By using encryption on RAW power supplies, you can avoid that fight.”
The company’s mobile plug and play infrastructure is tailored for oil fields. These mobile modules are otherwise used to convert flare methane to electricity and then minify Bitcoin. This is a process that Exxon and Crusoe have demonstrated on a large scale by diverting 18 million cubic feet of gas per month, reducing comparable emissions by up to 63%.
Saudi Aramco has previously denied its intention to mine Bitcoin. In 2021, the company labelled such reports as “false and inaccurate.”
However, Marathon Tiel recently claimed that the company has an excess capacity of 4-5 gigawatts. If even a small amount is redirected, it exceeds the total production volume of many standalone crypto facilities.
Exxon, meanwhile, has institutional memory and data from two years of Crusoe pilots.
Why now? The convergence of pressure and opportunity
Behind the scenes, regulatory momentum is being built. It will incur US methane emissions fees under this year’s Inflation Reduction Act, urging oil producers to find ways to reduce or monetize their emissions. Flare gas mining offers a slow, high-speed, high-speed pass to compliance, especially when combined with the carbon offset market.
Additionally, Texas has approved bills to encourage Bitcoin mining with flare gas.
At the same time, Bitcoin Miner is working on compression margins halfway through April 2025. One of the industry’s largest listed players, Marathon produced 950 BTC in May, but now needs to actively pursue a source of energy of $0.03/kWh to stay competitive. Flare gas, once an input of fringe energy, can become a post-harning lifeline.
Skepticism is still guaranteed. No SEC filings, public agreements or official comments confirm Exxon or Aramco’s partnership. Given Aramco’s past denials, changes in stance could include months of permission, infrastructure building and reputation calculations.
If Oil majors in Green Light Bitcoin Mining at the top, the flare gas conversation shifts from “Can it work?” “How fast can you scale?” The marathon, with its turnkey module and Wall Street footprint, could be lined up first.
What to see
- Public applications from Exxon, Aramco or Marathon or Mous confirms pilot collaboration.
- Energy regulator response to flare gas mining during methane charge deployment.
- Q3 Production Update: Marathon Energy Costs and BTC Yields per Site.
- Community pushback around noise and emissions from the Marathon Texas Flare Site.
“What you’re going to find is a mixture of heat, wind, solar and some flare gas. It really depends on the market and the partner.
We are in talks with some of the world’s largest energy companies, with a mix of all these energy sources and nuclear sources.
When it comes to flare gas, there are many gas assets around the world that are very applicable to this method…
And what I think we will see more and more do us in the future, especially as we continue to work with oil and gas producers, we see that this flare gas type production chunk is offered online in different regions of the world where Bitcoin mining operations can be deployed as a way to monetize that chain of gas. And we are very excited about those opportunities. ”
– Fred Tiel, Marathon CEO
This story is developing. Cryptoslate is updated as details appear.