Blockchain in oil and gas: a collaborative approach
L. C. Gallacher A C and D. Champion BA Deloitte Consulting Pty Ltd, 123–125 St George’s Terrace, Perth, WA 6000, Australia.
B Nottingham Business School, Newton Building, Nottingham Trent University, NG1 4BU, UK.
C Corresponding author. Email: lgallacher@deloitte.com.au
The APPEA Journal 59(2) 586-590 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ18216
Accepted: 29 March 2019 Published: 17 June 2019
Abstract
Blockchain technology is a distributed ledger of data, vetted before acceptance, encrypted and shared among parties (depending on the configuration) authorised to view it. Due to the potential cost savings, revenue generation, efficiency gains and security; governments, organisations, companies and consortia across many industries are developing proofs of concept with two in oil and gas reportedly now in production. The value chain in the oil and gas industry is characterised by many remote working locations across different geographical regions; involving multiple stakeholders and regulators each with differing criteria to be met. Many opportunities for improvement across the oil and gas value chain have been identified and some are beginning to be addressed by proofs of concept and live blockchain platforms. However, these are being developed via discrete consortia and not as part of a cohesive industry strategy. Standards to promote understanding and adoption are being developed at the global, national and industry level, but this is an area currently lacking in the oil and gas industry. This paper highlights activity in other industries and suggests that the recently formed OOC Blockchain Consortia of Oil and Gas industry participants, if extended to statutory organisations, regulators, standards organisations and academia could be the forum required to accelerate understanding and adoption within the industry to release the currently untapped value.
Keywords: adoption, collaboration, consortia, consortium, cost, criteria, distributed ledger, efficiency, forum, government, proof of concept, regulation, regulatory, security, standards, value.
Lindsey Gallacher is a Manager in Deloitte Australia’s Strategy and Operations Consulting practice specialising in Asset Management and Supply Chain Management. With a focus on oil, gas and LNG, Lindsey has led teams within the delivery of major capital projects including Gorgon and Ichthys. Lindsey’s speciality is onshore and offshore logistics and operational improvement. She also has experience in project management of combined-cycle gas power plant turnarounds. Her leadership foundations were created during her service as a Commissioned Officer in the British Army, with deployments including Iraq, The Falkland Islands, India, Canada and Cyprus. Lindsey completed her Master’s Degree in Logistics and Supply Chain Management with a thesis on understanding value creation of Blockchain in the supply chain at Cranfield School of Management, UK. Lindsey also holds a BSc (Hons) from The University of Edinburgh and a Graduate Certificate in Project Management from Curtin University. Her professional qualifications include certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, PRINCE2 practitioner and a City and Guilds Graduateship in Leadership and Management. |
Dr Donna Champion is an Associate Professor in Technology Innovation and Society at Nottingham Trent University. She previously held Readerships at Cranfield and Loughborough Universities. Her research is focused on technology integration into complex infrastructure systems. She is widely published and is currently Principal Investigator on a project funded by the Science Technology and Facilities Council, UK, to identify the stakeholders and requirements for a new information architecture to support food security across global food supply chains, using blockchain/distributed ledger technology. |
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