April 4, Moscow – During the top-level meeting, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller reported to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev about the successful preparatory work for implementation of blockchain in monitoring supply chain operations. Miller stated the processes were developed that will enable to automate conclusion, monitoring and execution of supply contracts with company’s counterparts.

The development is being assisted by Gazprombank with the two companies set to launch the technological platform, enabling automatic price competition between stakeholders, automatic calculation of gas prices and contracting.

At the first stage, the blockchain-enabled system will be accessible only to larger industrial partners, but the state-owned energy giant sees the possibility to implement the same approach in dealing with all types of its customers.

Potential in blockchain

Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev noted that it was great to see a tangible implementation of the blockchain technology:

“[we] see a very concrete use case for a modern emerging technology, which is widely covered globally, but which is rarely well understood. This use cases shows its real potential for implementation.”

Dmitry Medvedev added that with Gazprom’s successful experience in blockchainifying the economy, other companies will be able to start following the suit. In particular, blockchain-enabled systems will be beneficial for those partnerships which feature high numbers of consumers and standardizable servicing terms and conditions, while also having a high level of complexity, including quality control, mutual obligations performance and more.

This was not the first time for Gazprom to test grounds with blockchain projects. Earlier, Its oil-producing subsidiary Gazpromneft successfully rolled out the project to track transportation of oil equipment, using RFIDs, GPS transmitters and blockchain. The system enabled to track equipment’s movements right from the factory floor to the installation site, traversing thousands of kilometers across Russia. All data was recorded on the blockchain, fully open to all liaisons with different companies.