With several use cases across the industry value chain, the consortium, residing under the Offshore Operators Committee (OOC), intends to conduct proofs of concept with this emerging technology in 2019.

“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. “Blockchain technology is a catalyst for reimagining the way we do business and this consortium represents a collaborative effort to explore the technology’s potential and leverage learnings to drive industry adoption.”

Blockchain technology uses distributed ledgers to allow digital assets to be transacted in a real-time, immutable manner. The scope and objectives of the consortium are to:

Learn, lead and leverage emerging blockchain technology for the oil and gas industry by evaluating the technology, completing proofs of concept, and conducting pilots;

Explore the benefits and industry application of blockchain including faster transacting, reduced disputes, improved safety and lower costs;

Facilitate blockchain adoption through industry standardization of data, processes, security and compliance;

Drive standard setting through industry alignment on key blockchain components, including governance structures, smart contract parameters, consensus protocols and cryptology requirements.

A board of directors will oversee consortium funding, ensure operating procedures are maintained and provide project approval. The board is comprised of representatives from the seven founding member companies: Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Hess, Pioneer Natural Resources and Repsol.

“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.