Russian gas giant Gazprom seeks to automate gas supply agreements using blockchain

Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev has welcomed Gazprom’s effort to use blockchain technology for automation of gas supply processes, Cointelegraph reported referring to a report from Vestifinance.

Majority owned by the government, Gazprom is a large Russian company, which carries on the business of extraction, production, transport, and sale of natural gas.

Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, recently met with Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev and discussed the implementation of distributed ledger technology, among other things.

Miller said that the company has already developed a prototype platform that will automate contracts using blockchain technology.

“Together with Gazprombank, we have developed a prototype of a technological platform to automate the process of concluding, monitoring and executing contracts. This system also provides for automated arbitrage and calculation of payments for gas,” he explained.

He went on to state that the platform is open to all participants in the contracting process and is fully protected from tampering and unauthorized changes.

“Gazprom is currently ready to start implementing the process for automated support of contracting procedures regarding gas supplies. At the initial stage, this work will only concern major industrial consumers,” he added.

Medvedev not only welcomed the initiative but also said that Gazprom’s efforts could be followed by other companies who are considering using this technology. He noted that while a lot is being written and spoken about blockchain technology, its practical applicability and use are not often understood.

“I believe that this technology has a promising future in our industry and in the activities of companies like Gazprom,” he said.

Last February, Gazprom’s oil subsidiary Gazprom Neft started testing blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in logistics and procurement management. Later in August, Gazpromneft-Aero, a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft engaged in aviation refueling, and S7 Airlines implemented a blockchain-based solution to enhance the efficiency of aviation refueling processes.