Exxon Mobil Joins Other Petroleum Giants in Testing Blockchain Pilot
A consortium of 10 multinational oil and gas companies known as the Offshore Operators Committee (OOC) Oil and Gas Blockchain Consortium has reportedly tested a blockchain pilot to explore the possibilities of leveraging distributed ledger technology (DLT) to automate production and cut down operational costs.
Details of the Pilot Test
According to Reuters, the OOC Oil and Gas Blockchain Consortium has tested out a DLT-based solution developed by information technology supplier Data Gumbo Corp. The pilot was reportedly geared towards leveraging blockchain technology for automating oilfield water-handling payments.
According to the report, the blockchain pilot test focused exclusively on water hauling and automating payment verification. The test results proved that leveraging DLT optimized the workflow process, cutting production time down to one to seven days.
Also, the blockchain-based solution was reportedly able to automatically process 85 percent of all volume measurements. Before DLT was utilized during the pilot test, production took as long as 90-120 days.
Commenting on the results of the test, Chairman of the OOC Blockchain Consortium Rebecca Hofmann revealed plans to proceed with adopting blockchain technology within the companies in the group.
Hofmann pointed out that the recent crash in oil prices caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced firms to consider leveraging DLT to digitize production and save cost. Hofmann said:
“This could be adopted this year. Equinor and others in the consortium are seeing the value and investigating how this can be implemented to bring much-needed cost savings back into their companies.”
Members of the consortium include heavyweights in the oil and gas industry such as Equinor, Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell to name a few. The pilot was also reportedly tested in partnership with the water disposal company Nuverra Environmental Solutions.
Blockchain Adoption Across Diverse Industries
As previously reported by BTCManager, Canadian-based blockchain firm GuildOne was contracted by the OOC Oil and Gas Blockchain Consortium to develop a proof-of-concept for authorization for expenditure (AFE).
In other industries, blockchain technology continues to build a case for itself as a tool for pushing widespread digitization. Back in May 2020, India’s largest private port operator announced a partnership with blockchain-based digital container logistics platform TradeLens to leverage DLT for improving its supply chain management (SCM).
Also, Russia’s central bank reportedly plans to develop a digital mortgage system powered by DLT. The Bank of Russia plans to build the mortgage system on the state-backed blockchain project Masterchain.
