Oil industry giants Shell (LON:RDSa) and BP (LON:BP) are among a group of firms planning to launch a blockchain platform to automate post-trade processes in the energy industry by the end of 2018.
VAKT Global, the consortium building the platform, revealed the news at a digital commodities summit hosted by S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Platts on Monday.
The effort effectively intends to help oil companies replace paper-based documentation with smart contracts – a move expected to cut costs, reduce the risk of errors and make post-trade processes more efficient. The platform will comprise a "secure, real-time blockchain-based platform to manage physical energy transactions," according to the group.