Share this article
Shell, BP Back Blockchain Platform to Modernize Commodities Trading
Oil giants Shell and BP are among a group of firms planning to launch a blockchain platform to automate post-trade processes in the energy industry.
Updated Dec 10, 2022, 9:17 p.m. Published Nov 13, 2018, 12:30 p.m.
Oil industry giants Shell and 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 Platts on Monday.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
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.
"We expect to go live at the end of November in the North Sea oil market. In 2019 we will look at ARA barges, waterborne markets and US crude pipelines,” said Lyon Hardgrave, VAKT Global’s vice president of product development.
The first licensees are expected to be on board by January, Hardgrave added.
VAKT Global saidhttps://www.vakt.com/press-detail/november-2017-commodity-traders-energy-majors-and-banks-join-forces-to-create-a-blockchain-based-digital-platform-for-the-energy-commodity-trading-industry earlier this week that the blockchain platform would be run as a new venture by the consortium members, to be managed and operated as an independent entity. Regulatory approvals for the venture are pending, it added.
Apart from Shell and BP, other members of the group include Norwegian energy company Statoil, trading houses such as Gunvor, Koch Supply & Trading and Mercuria, and banks including ABN Amro, ING and Societe Generale.
Licensees that join the blockchain platform on a fee basis can expect to save around 40 percent in post-trade resolution, Hardgrave said.
He added:
"This not a trading platform, nor a settlement platform – there is no cryptocurrency involved. But it is everything in between: deal recap; confirmation; contract; logistics (the really big element in all this) – and invoicing.”
Oil pumps image via Shutterstock
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
These Three Metrics Show Bitcoin Found Strong Support Near $80,000
Onchain data shows multiple cost basis metrics confirm heavy demand and investor conviction around the $80,000 price level.
What to know:
- Bitcoin rebounded from the $80,000 region after a sharp correction from its October all time high, with price holding above the average entry levels of key metrics.
- The convergence of the True Market Mean, U.S. ETF cost basis, and the 2024 yearly cost basis around the low $80,000 range highlights this zone as a major area of structural support.
Top Stories
