DiscoverCoinDesk Podcast NetworkTHE MINING POD: What Bitcoin Miners Get Wrong About Oil And Gas w/ Sean McDonough
THE MINING POD: What Bitcoin Miners Get Wrong About Oil And Gas w/ Sean McDonough

THE MINING POD: What Bitcoin Miners Get Wrong About Oil And Gas w/ Sean McDonough

Update: 2025-06-17
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Sean McDonough of New West joins the pod to discuss how oil and gas bitcoin mining has changed and where the sector is headed. 


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Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Sean McDonough, president and founder of New West Data joins us to talk about the company’s vertically integrated oil and gas bitcoin mining operations in Alberta, Canada. We explore the pros and cons of full O&G ownership versus JV partnerships, barriers for large oil companies entering Bitcoin mining, regulatory considerations in Alberta, and the convergence of oil, gas, and AI data centers.


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**Notes:**

• New West: $1.5M CAD per megawatt CapEx cost

• Alberta flare gas mining still relatively small scale

• Dual revenue streams: oil sales + Bitcoin mining

• Cash flows split evenly between oil and Bitcoin

• Generators are largest CapEx item, more than miners

• Hash rate trading in 800-900 range for months


00:00 Start

02:38 New West

04:26 Ownership instead of service

07:35 Why don't we see more miner vertical integration

10:06 JV's and risk

10:56 Nat Gas economics

12:30 Nat Gas more profitable than mining?

15:48 Regulation in Alberta

17:57 Understanding of BTC mining in Alberta

19:58 Drillers shifting thinking

24:37 Economics of pure play Nat Gas mining?

28:45 Have oil producers soured on BTC miners?

32:55 NYDIG & Caruso buyout

36:09 Ai energy bottleneck

41:00 Hashrate predictions

42:41 Hashrate chart waves


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Published twice weekly, "The Mining Pod" interviews the best builders and operators in the Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining landscape. Subscribe to get notifications when we publish interviews on Tuesday and a news show on Friday!

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THE MINING POD: What Bitcoin Miners Get Wrong About Oil And Gas w/ Sean McDonough

THE MINING POD: What Bitcoin Miners Get Wrong About Oil And Gas w/ Sean McDonough