First a caveat .... Here at Oil IT Journal we are unashamed blockchain skeptics. Not (just) because we believe that the whole cryptocurrency thing is a boondoggle that will end in tears. But also because, as Editor Neil McNaughton* has argued previously there is no mechanism to unambiguously tie a token on the blockchain to anything in the physical world. This means that use cases such as emissions reporting, financial reporting with real currencies, process control data cannot be ‘certified’ by their corresponding digital representations on the blockchain. As we revealed in our last issue, our Cassandra-style predictions with regard to blockchain in trading were borne out by BP’s revelation that the ‘Blockchain consortium model isn't working’. With all that in mind, as faithful recorders of what is happening in this most peculiar domain, we provide you with the latest developments, to ‘consume with moderation’.
Calgary-based GuildOne is teaming with the Huston-headquartered Blockchain for Energy on a blockchain-based integrated joint venture management pilot. The pilot will be built on R3’s Corda blockchain platform and GuildOne’s ‘ConTracks’ smart contract technology. The IJVM pilot extends an earlier AFE balloting trial. The BfE Corda blockchain business network will provide participating energy companies with access to blockchain nodes for both sandbox development and commercial implementation, promising ‘at-scale’ blockchain adoption in the energy industry. BfE members include Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Hess, Pioneer Natural Resources and Repsol.
Blockchain For Energy has also announced a smart contracts-focused R&D program to give consortium members hands-on experience of blockchain implementation and smart contract interoperability across different platforms. The program will test and certify ‘industry-grade’ smart contracts and create a library of templates. The R&D program is a collaboration with Data Gumbo, developer of the GumboNet SC network.
Beyond Oil has announced the Solar Oil Project, a ‘revolutionary tokenization platform’ to support oil well operators with an innovative solution to reduce the carbon footprint of oil production, while ‘recycling’ abandoned or underutilized oil wells. SOP provides automated solar-powered pumps that ‘give a fresh breath of life’ into profitable production. Interested parties can ‘participate’ in the activity by purchasing ‘non-speculative’ Solar Oil Access Tokens (SOAX). The ‘ERC-20’ Ethereum tokens can be assigned by their owners to selected oil well sites. They are paid back in Solar Oil Production tokens (SOPX) which can be traded on the SOP exchange.
DataGumbo reports the outcome of a ‘successful pilot’ of its GumboNet blockchain-powered smart contract network with an unnamed, Texas-headquartered, oil gas and chemicals multinational. The project involved a chemicals supply chain spanning some 200 locations operating over a 30-day period. The project automated invoice matching from internet of things/scada data integrated with the ERP systems.
Kongsberg Digital has partnered with Data Gumbo to make blockchain smart contracts available from its Kognitwin digital twin environment. The addition of automated GumboNet smart contracts will allow customers, vendors and suppliers to integrate transactional data and achieve ‘real-time, predictive digital replicas of industrial heavy assets’.
Randaberg, Norway headquartered Well Expertise, a provider of plug and abandonment, exploration, appraisal and development planning services and software has adopted Data Gumbo’s GumboNet for use in its frame agreements and well contracts with Wellesley Petroleum. The solution is said to improve workflow processes, automate invoicing and payments and provide real-time operational cost control.
French putative hydrogen-powered car manufacturer, Hopium has opened a blockchain technology development subsidiary, UNA, based in Venice Beach, CA. UNA is working on an ‘encrypted ultra-secure and decentralized’ software and data solution for deployment in Hopium’s future ‘Māchina’ supercar. First phase of the technology will focus on the vehicle’s ecological impact with a digital passport and ownership records to ‘guarantee security, and traceability throughout the supply chain’.
Voice Life has signed a memorandum of understanding with Verge Currency and rLoop. The companies are to build a far field wireless transmission system for continuous, clean and ‘limitless’ charging of smart phones, IoT devices and autonomous vehicles. Voice Life is the developer of the wireless charging solution. Verge Currency is a ‘volunteer-driven’ cryptocurrency created in 2014. rLoop is a ‘decentralized autonomous organization’ (DAO), conceived in the SpaceX hyperloop competition, that acquires, supports and finances early-stage innovation projects in an ecosystem of ‘limitless and permissionless innovation’.
BlockApps has announced ‘TraceCarbon,’ a ‘net zero’ blockchain network for emissions compliance. TC leverages the BlockApps STRATO blockchain platform for sustainability tracking and corporate reporting. TC tracks CO2 emissions for compliance and transparency in corporate reporting and product lifecycle analysis. TC also leverages AI from FuelTrust to validate carbon emissions and help reduce their environmental footprint. More from BlockApps.
* See also Neil’s recent letter published in the Financial Times on crypto craziness.
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