US oil trader Trafigura has teamed up with French bank Natixis to use Blockchain for “streamlining” its sales process.
After a series of successful trials which began in November, both sides are now convinced that the technology could significantly impact on the efficiency of selling crude oil. Currently, the sales chain involves “exchanging contracts, letters of credit, inspection and other paperwork by email or fax,” the Financial Times reports.
“By using Blockchain, the goal is to streamline the workflow,” Arnaud Stevens, New York head of global energy and commodities at Natixis, told the publication.
The investigative move is the latest in Blockchain’s steady entry into global commerce, having previously seen success in international shipping.
IBM and Maersk most recently announced a partnership which is aiming to deliver a Blockchain-based shipping solution by the end of the year.
“We look forward to seeing the potential business benefits which could bring substantial efficiency and productivity gains to our finance operations, while increasing security,” Trafigura’s chief financial officer Christophe Salmon said echoing the optimism.
IBM also had a hand in the test phase for Trafigura and Nataxis, with vice president James Wallis reiterating the need to take the weight out of the complex oil sales pipeline.
“There’s a lot of friction and a lot of manual effort involved. It’s error prone,” he said.