Blockchain technology for secure and transparent oil and gas supply chains

This paper is a critical review of the change-making capacity of blockchain as a solution for securing and optimizing the efficiency of oil and gas supply chains. The industry has inefficiencies through unresolved processes, manual documentation, prevalence of issues related to traceability, and mistrust between actors. Blockchain offers a decentralized immutable ledger system facilitating transparency, security, traceability, and coordination of operations in upstream, midstream, and downstream operations. From extensive case studies of ADNOC, Shell, Repsol, and Komgo implementations, the paper documents real instances where blockchain has enhanced cost-efficiency, compliance regulations, and operations in supply chains. Comparative trials demonstrate blockchain-empowered supply chains far outstrip traditional supply chains by reducing fraud by as much as 92%, administrative turnaround times by as much as 85%, and operation costs by as much as 35%. Despite these, challenges brought about by legacy system integration, regulatory ambiguity, and organizational resistance remain to be roadblocks to scalability. The paper calls out technical trends in the shape of AI, IoT, digital twins, and quantum-resistant encryption as the driving forces for scalability and function of blockchain. The strategic recommendations for industry executives, academics and policymakers are then presented by calling for standardization, regulatory clarity, talents development and sustainability. It concludes that blockchain if utilized strategically, is a building block toward a resilient, efficient and fail-proof oil and gas supply chain.