BACKGROUND

This specification relates to enabling the utilization of raw natural gas, such as flare gas, stranded gas, and associated gas for power generation. More specifically, the specification relates to on-site generation of electricity from natural gas to power modular processing units adapted to perform distributed computing tasks.

Extracting oil from unconventional resources, such as shale gas formations, through the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has increased at a rapid pace in recent years. The Bakken, Powder River Basin, Denver Julesburg (“D-J”) Basin, North Park Basin, and Permian Basin are just some of the important “plays” in the United States. A “play” is the geographic area underlain by a gas- or oil-containing geologic formation.

Development of these gas plays and other unconventional resources presents significant potential for economic development and energy independence, but also presents the potential for environmental impacts on land, water and air. For example, although oil production represents the most important source of revenue for a given well, most wells also produce natural gas as a low-value byproduct. Unfortunately, the liquids-rich natural gas byproduct often cannot be economically transported by trucks or trains from remote well locations. Although such natural gases could be transported via pipelines, many oil and natural gas wells are located beyond the reach of such infrastructure. Absent gas pipeline infrastructure, oil well operators must either “vent” or “flare” produced gasses for safety reasons. Venting is the controlled release of natural gases into the atmosphere in the course of oil and gas production operations, however natural gas accumulations around the wellbore create significant safety hazards. Flaring is the controlled burning of natural gas produced in association with oil in the course of routine oil and gas production operations, and is designed to minimize the safety and environmental risks associated with venting uncombusted natural gas.

As of April 2016, the NOAA estimates that there are over 6,200 individual flares in the United States, which burn about 35 billion ft3 of natural gas annually—enough to supply about 6 million homes. Such large-scale flaring of natural gas has raised serious environmental and health concerns and various state and federal regulators have begun to take action by implementing strict regulations and enforcement policies. For example, Colorado generally limits flaring to 60 days and many new well permits require producers to have a natural gas offtake solution prior to production; North Dakota has recently implemented a requirement that 90% of associated gas be captured by 2020; and Texas only allows new wells to flare for 10 days before an additional 45-day permit must be obtained. The EPA has also implemented flaring regulations where sites that exceed 100 tons per year of VOC, CO or NOX trigger Title V “Major Source Emitter” rules. Violations of state or federal rules can result in oil wells being “shut in,” rejected permits and/or significant cash fines.

Stranded natural gas, particularly in the case where liquids-weighted wells are shut in due to gas takeaway constraints, represents a very low-cost power generation opportunity. Stranded gas exists across most prominent shale fields today including in the D-J Basin, Permian Basin, Bakken, SCOOP/STACK, etc. Many oil and gas operators in pipeline-constrained environments readily offer their natural gas for low cost—even at a loss to the operator in some cases—so that they can produce oil, which often represents the vast majority of a well's lifetime economics.

One potential solution to the natural gas problem lies in distributed computing. Cryptocurrency is a booming asset class with the combined market capitalization of digital currencies surpassing $380 billion in July 2018. Cryptocurrencies operate on a distributed system of computers “mining” the currencies—essentially processing the underlying algorithms to continuously verify transactions and account balances. The crypto mining process is a significant industry in its own right, projected to reach a value of $39 billion by 2025 with a projected CAGR of 29.7%.

This high-growth industry requires innovative and inexpensive electricity sources as it requires enormous amounts of power—approximately 29 TWh of electricity per year on a global basis. For perspective, cryptocurrency mining consumes more power annually than 159 countries, including Hungary, Ireland, Nigeria or Slovakia. Indeed, electricity is typically the single largest lifetime cost to a cryptocurrency mining operation, with power costs offsetting approximately 30% of total mining revenues in the US.

Accordingly, there remains a need for systems and methods for generating electricity from natural gas produced from oil wells. It would be beneficial if such electricity could be produced and consumed on-site, for example, by using it to operate power-intensive, modular processing units. It would be further beneficial if such processing units could be employed to mine cryptocurrency or perform other distributed computing tasks to generate additional revenue.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the foregoing objectives and others, exemplary systems and methods are disclosed herein to convert raw natural gas into a fuel gas stream that may be used to power any number of on-site power generation modules. In turn, the power generation modules may convert the fuel gas stream into electricity, which may be employed to power any number of modular distributed computing units. In certain embodiments, the distributed computing units may be adapted to mine cryptocurrency or perform other distributed computing tasks to generate revenue.

In one embodiment, a flare mitigation system is provided. Such system may include an electrical power generation system, which may include a power generation module adapted to: receive a fuel gas stream, such as a fuel gas associated with a heat value of at least about 1,000 Btu/scf; and consume the fuel gas stream to generate a high-voltage electrical output associated with a first voltage. The electrical power generation system may also include an electrical transformation module in electrical communication with the power generation module, the electrical transformation module adapted to: receive the high-voltage electrical output generated by the power generation module; and transform the high-voltage electrical output into a low-voltage electrical output associated with a second voltage that is lower than the first voltage.

The flare mitigation system may also include a distributed computing system powered by the electrical power generation system. The distributed computing system may include a communications system with one or more data satellite antennas in order to provide a network; and a first mobile data center. The mobile data center may include an enclosure defining an interior space; a plurality of distributed computing units located within the interior space of the enclosure, each of the plurality of distributed computing units in communication with the network; and a power system located at least partially within the interior space of the enclosure, the power system in electrical communication with the electrical transformation module and the plurality of distributed computing units such that the power system receives the low-voltage electrical output and powers each of the plurality of distributed computing units.

In some cases, the power generation module may be an engine-type generator that generates a high-voltage electrical output of from about 70 kW to about 2 MW (e.g., from about 70 kW to about 300 kW, from about 300 kW to about 400 kW, 400 kW to about 1 MW, or from about 1 MW to about 2 MW). The first voltage of the high-voltage electrical output may be from about 480 V to about 4.16 kV. And the second voltage of the low-voltage electrical output may be from about 208 V to about 240 V.

In other cases, the power generation module may be a turbine-type generator that generates a high-voltage electrical output of from about 2 MW to about 30 MW. In such cases, the first voltage of the high-voltage electrical output may be from about 4.16 kV to about 12 kV. And the second voltage of the low-voltage electrical output may be from about 208 V to about 240 V.

In another embodiment, a flare mitigation system is provided. The system may include an electrical power generation system having a first power generation module and a second power generation module. The first power generation module may be adapted to receive a first fuel gas stream, such as a fuel gas associated with a heat value of at least about 1,000 Btu/scf, and to consume the fuel gas stream to generate a first high-voltage electrical output associated with a first voltage. The second power generation module may be adapted to receive a second fuel gas stream including the fuel gas, and to consume the second fuel gas stream to generate a second high-voltage electrical output associated with the first voltage.

The electrical power generation system may also include a parallel panel in electrical communication with the first power generation module and the second power generation module. The parallel panel may be adapted to receive the first and second high-voltage electrical outputs; and combine and/or synchronize the first and second high-voltage electrical outputs into a combined high-voltage electrical output.

The electrical power generation system may also include an electrical transformation module in electrical communication with the parallel panel. The electrical transformation module may be adapted to receive the combined high-voltage electrical output; and transform the combined high-voltage electrical output into a low-voltage electrical output associated with a second voltage that is lower than the first voltage.

The flare mitigation system may further include a distributed computing system powered by the electrical power generation system. The distributed computing system may include a communications system having one or more data satellite antennas in order to provide a network. Moreover, the distributed computing system may include a first mobile data center having an enclosure defining an interior space; a plurality of distributed computing units located within the interior space of the enclosure, each of the plurality of distributed computing units in communication with the network; and a power system located at least partially within the interior space of the enclosure, the power system in electrical communication with the electrical transformation module and the plurality of distributed computing units such that the power system receives the low-voltage electrical output and powers each of the plurality of distributed computing units.

The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter of this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.

