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UK gas-investment firm weighs bitcoin mining, draws criticism

Reabold Resources' gas field is so large it could theoretically mine 50,000 BTC, local media said. The firm said it will test bitcoin mining before pivoting to data centers.

By Olivier Acuna|Edited by Sheldon Reback Apr 20, 2026, 3:22 p.m. Make preferred on A U.K.-based investment firm that focuses on gas exploitation is planning to test gas-powered bitcoin mining. (CoinDesk archives)

What to know:

• Reabold Resources is considering a pilot gas-powered bitcoin mining station at its West Newton A well site in northern England to showcase how its gas reserves could fuel future data centers.
• The company says bitcoin mining would initially help finance further development of the large onshore gas field and serve as a proof of concept for a potentially much larger data-center operation.
• Reabold’s plan drew criticism amid concerns about U.K. gas supplies, but the government has said such concerns are unfounded, and the firm maintains the field will primarily support U.K. energy security as bitcoin miners increasingly pivot toward broader computing and AI services.

Reabold Resources, an investment company focused on developing European gas projects, said it is considering establishing a gas-powered bitcoin BTC$75,520.88 mining station in northern England.

The London-based company is exploring the potential to deploy a small power plant as a pilot for future data-center developments that are “crucial to the future U.K. economy,” it said in a statement on Monday.

Bitcoin production from the company's West Newton A well site will be used to demonstrate the ability to use the gas to fuel data-center developments, the firm said. The announcement follows publication of a Telegraph article criticizing the plan at a time when the country could face gas shortages because of the war between Iran and the U.S. and Israel.

Concerns of potential gas shortage are unfounded according to a U.K. government statement in late March, which said gas supply will not be affected.

"Only about 1% of the U.K.’s gas supply in 2025 came from Qatar. We have no reason to expect it would be significantly different in 2026,” it said.

The Telegraph’s article said Reabold’s West Newton gas field is so large it could theoretically power the creation of 50,000 bitcoin tokens.

“A private gas supply means we can run a data centre to mine bitcoin relatively cheaply,” said Sachin Oza, the co-CEO of Reabold Resources, which has a drilling license by the Environment Agency.

“Initially, this would help fund the further development of the gas field and prove the concept – meaning it could become the precursor to a far larger data center.”

But, the firm said, “the significant onshore natural gas resource at the West Newton site in Yorkshire has and will continue to be progressed for the benefit of U.K. energy security, which is particularly important at this time of significant geopolitical uncertainty.”

Reabold's plan for a bitcoin mining operation to broaden into a data center comes bitcoin mining is undergoing a transformation, with many companies diverting into high-performance computing and support for the AI industry.

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