According to a press release on Feb. 26, Seven American oil and gas industry giants have come together to form the very first oil and gas industry-specific blockchain consortium in the United States. The consortium is comprised of American industry giants ExxonMobil and Chevron and other five companies – ConocoPhillips, Equinor, Hess, Pioneer Natural Resources and Repsol. The oil and gas industry blockchain consortium will be residing under the Offshore Operators Committee (OOC) that is looking forward to implementing the proof of conduct consensus in order to explore the potential of the blockchain in industry.
There is no single industry that has left untouched by the blockchain and oil and gas industry is no exception. However, the blockchain penetration in this particular industry was significantly slower compared to other industries such as banking and finance. Though, forming oil and gas industry blockchain consortium is a huge step towards advancing the industry blockchain, not only to embrace the industry but also global blockchain adoption.
“Creating the OOC Oil & Gas Blockchain Consortium is a significant step toward establishing key blockchain standards, frameworks, and capabilities for the oil and gas industry,” said Rebecca Hofmann, chairman of the board of directors.
The consortium is aiming to evaluate the blockchain by establishing proof of concept and airing various pilot programs to explore the various ways of utilizing the blockchain technology for the oil and gas industry. It will also explore the potential benefits the blockchain can bring in terms of faster transactions, reduced costs, improves safety, and fewer disputes. The main goal of the consortium is to fuel the blockchain adoption through the industry and advancing the industry blockchain technology by implementing required governance structures, smart contract, and consensus mechanism.
A board of directors that includes the representative from all seven founding companies will look after the various aspects of the consortium such as consortium funding, monitoring and maintaining the operating processes, & acquiring the project approval.
“The consortium is eager to begin building a foundational network of business partners to collaboratively advance use cases within exploration, finance, IT, land, operations, and supply chain, while also leveraging learnings amongst our members,” said JD Franke, vice-chairman of the board of directors.
