in natural gas goes up in smoke every year in the US through flaring
This is where Bitcoin reenters the chat. The Bitcoin network uses about as much electricity in a year as the country of. Miners solve ever more complex puzzles to mint new Bitcoin, which requires special hardware and a whole lot of electricity. Luckily for Exxon and companies like it, Bitcoin mining rigs can be set up pretty much anywhere there’s a cheap, abundant power source — like, say, an oil field where Exxon has so much extra gas it’s just burning it up willy-nilly.
It might be different if Exxon was getting its waste gas to the grid where it might serve an arguably more important purpose like heating and lighting homes. Then that excess gas would displace pollution that would have otherwise come from intentionally drilling for gas elsewhere. But that’s not really the case when Exxon mines Bitcoin with waste gas.