Oil and gas technology developer GuildOne is partnering with the Blockchain for Energy (formerly OOC) consortium to pilot the first blockchain-based Integrated Joint Venture Management (IJVM) platform. Major oil companies such as Chevron, ExxonMobil, Hess, and Repsol are involved as members of Blockchain for Energy.
Many oil and energy projects are joint ventures to enable multiple firms to pool investment for large projects and share risks. The issue with joint ventures in the sector is that they often lead to disputes between the parties, high administrative costs, and project delays due to their complexity.
The pilot will be built using R3’s Corda enterprise blockchain protocol, on Blockchain for Energy’s Corda network, and use ConTracks, GuildOne’s smart contract technology.
This is the first pilot to deploy on Blockchain for Energy’s Corda network. By creating the network, the hope is to foster more blockchain collaborations in the energy industry, reducing the costs of developing new solutions and more easily scale existing solutions.
The two companies previously worked on a Proof of Concept (PoC) blockchain solution for AFE balloting using Corda and ConTracks. AFE is used to approve large project expenditures. Approval of expenditures and project billing are two critical elements for a joint venture solution.
Beyond optimizing a rather time consuming manual process, the AFE solution also automatically calculates each party’s final interest in the project.
The new GuildOne and Blockchain for Energy joint venture pilot will build on the existing AFE PoC to reduce opportunities for disagreements and consequently reduce the friction of operating a joint venture in the energy industry.
“I’m proud of the progress we’ve made together on our blockchain applications like AFE balloting, as well as the development of a foundational business network that will support a wide variety of future use cases.” said Blockchain for Energy executive director Rebecca Hofmann. “Blockchain will be a major part of this project, and our collaboration with GuildOne is helping this technology evolve to replace many outdated, manual processes that limit our industry’s growth and profitability.”
Meanwhile, Blockchain For Energy, previously known as OOC, completed a project with Data Gumbo to trial its blockchain platform for water management. The initiative aimed to lower operational costs and diminish possibilities for fraud and disputes.
As for GuildOne, the company has worked chiefly with oil companies, but last year it signed a three year partnership with Beatapp to streamline music on blockchain in India and Japan.
