Identification Of Suitable Blockchain Solutions For Promising Natural Gas Use Cases

Abstract

Blockchain has promising potential to address several challenges in different use cases in the natural gas industry. The potential applications range from pipeline monitoring to life-cycle administration of the field assets, monitoring gas storage to auditing and reconciliation, required certification of field technical staff c to hiring employee and work effectiveness evaluation, gas exploration and production to billing and payment processes. There is no single type of solution that can be used in several areas with diverse requirements. Furthermore, blockchain incorporates certain risks that need to be carefully considered when designing solutions. There for, it is of critical importance for the managers, decision makers and solution providers to thoroughly evaluate the needs and availabilities of potential application areas and decide on the most suitable blockchain solutions. The risks are mainly listed under three main titles. The first is standard risk considerations. The second is value transfer risk considerations, and third is smart contract risk considerations. This study investigates the fundamental requirements of potential blockchain applications in several use cases in the natural gas industry. The relevant blockchain types and protocols that can be used for consensus are identified and the associated risks are discussed.