The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will utilize blockchain technology in tracking oil shipments to and from Canada.
According to an official publication by the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Customs has partnered Canadian blockchain firm – Mavennet to develop a functional blockchain security platform to track imports of oil shipments through the US-Canadian border.
The notice highlights that Mavennet had won the Phase one of the Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP), and has been awarded $182,700 for developing series of natural gas blockchain solutions.
Speaking on the program, S&T SVIP Technical Director Anil John remarked:
“…Accurately tracking the evidence of oil flow through pipelines and refinement between the U.S and Canada, and attributing oil imports with the accurate composition and country of origin are of great interest to U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The Mavennet platform could provide this digital auditability, while ensuring broad interoperability by supporting emerging World Wide Web Consortium standards such as decentralized identifiers and verifiable credentials.
The Mavennet platform will utilize blockchain for cross-border oil exchange and provide real-time auditability and tracking of natural gas trading markets.
This Customs announcement follows a growing use case of blockchain technology in commodity tracking. Only last week, the Coca Cola Bottling Company revealed it was using blockchain technology in its supply chain; just as China’s President Xi Jinping also called for proactive steps to speedily adopt the technology in the country.
Blockchain technology offers traceability, tracking, transparency, and trust in commodity supply chains. It also eliminates paper work hassles in the trade settlement process..