Gazprom Partners with Crypto Energy to Deploy Modular Data Center at Depleted Siberian Gas Field

Russian state-owned gas giant Gazprom has launched a pilot project with cryptocurrency firm Crypto Energy to deploy a modular data center powered by natural gas behind the meter, marking a novel approach to repurposing depleted energy assets for compute-intensive workloads.

The project will be situated in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug region of northwestern Siberia and will utilize residual gas from the depleted Medvezhye gas field, according to local reports. Crypto Energy will construct both the modular data center and a gas piston power plant to directly supply electricity to the facility, while Gazprom will provide low-pressure gas. The regional government will assist computing capacity owners in securing government support.

In a joint statement, the partners explained the rationale behind the initiative: "Residual reserves of depleted fields in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug are becoming a profitable resource base for prospective data centers. Due to low reservoir pressure, it's more rational to use such reserves near production sites for energy-intensive data processing facilities."

Gazprom noted that the project represents a broader strategic push beyond this single site. "In addition to using low-pressure gas, Gazprom's project portfolio includes providing its own spare power generation capacity at fields for the creation of data centers in Russian regions. Specifically, such a project has been implemented at the Bovanenkovo field," the company added.

The initiative comes amid tightening energy constraints in Russia's most populous region. The Russian government recently banned Bitcoin mining in Moscow and the surrounding area to alleviate pressure on the country's strained power grid. Cryptocurrency mining currently consumes approximately 1GW of power in Moscow alone, with projections reaching up to 3.6GW by 2032 — equivalent to 17 percent of peak electricity demand for the entire grid.

The ban did not extend to cryptocurrency mining operations in Siberia and Russia's eastern territories, where energy costs are significantly lower. The Gazprom-Crypto Energy project underscores Siberia's emerging role as a preferred destination for energy-intensive computing, leveraging stranded gas reserves and spare generation capacity to serve data processing demand.