# Blockchain-based Supply Chain Solution for Oil and Gas Distribution

> Vertrax utilizes a Hyperledger Fabric-based blockchain solution on the IBM Blockchain Platform to provide complete traceability and transparency in oil and gas supply chains from drilling source to end consumer. The solution can reduce costs per delivery by up to 30% and is already in production use for millions of transactions. Through integration of IoT sensors for fluid inventory tracking, comprehensive visibility of all assets in the supply chain is achieved.

**Sector:** Tertiary sector · **Industry:** Freight forwarding and transport · **Organisation:** Vertrax · **Maturity level:** Production

Canonical URL: https://www.sapientblock.com/en/use-cases/vertrax-treibstofftransporte-transparent-verfolgen

## Documentation status

- **Project status:** Production
- **Evidence:** Evidence medium
- **Editorial review:** Ufuk Avci, 15 April 2026

## Description

The VAKT platform (founded 2017, live November 2018) was the first production blockchain platform for physical energy trading. Shell, BP, Equinor, Total, Koch Supply & Trading, ABN AMRO, ING and Société Générale formed the consortium. VAKT digitises post-trade processes for physical energy deliveries: document exchange, payment processing and delivery confirmation on blockchain instead of paper-based.

The crude oil and fuel trading industry suffered from paper-based, slow post-trade processing: bills of lading, quality certificates and payment instructions were exchanged physically, which could take 3–7 days and involved significant fraud risk. VAKT addressed exactly this: all parties in a physical energy transfer — traders, banks, storage companies — have access to the same transaction status on the same blockchain basis. Documents are stored immutably. Payments run automatically via Smart Contracts upon delivery proof. For fuel transports in the narrower sense, IBM together with Vertrax (formerly FuelTrax) developed a solution that combines GPS tracking of tankers with blockchain documentation: each delivery is anchored on the blockchain with quantity, timestamp, origin and destination. The system prevents fuel theft, adulteration fraud and enables automatic invoicing.

## Benefits

- Significant reduction of supply chain costs and improved operational efficiency through automated tracking and verification processes.
- Increased transparency regarding the origin and quality of the energy products used.
- Cost savings of up to 30% per delivery through eliminated inefficiencies and improved process optimisation.
- Complete transparency and traceability of all products from the drilling source to the end consumer through immutable blockchain records.
- Scalable processing of millions of transactions with robust cloud infrastructure and proven enterprise blockchain technology.
- Access to accurate real-time information on inventory and deliveries without manual data collection and verification.

## Challenges

- Significant initial investments for implementing and integrating the blockchain solution into existing corporate systems.
- High technical complexity in integrating various supply chain partners and their existing systems into the blockchain platform.
- Need for cooperation of all parties in the supply chain for complete end-to-end transparency.
- Required training and adaptation to new technological workflows and data-driven decision-making processes.

## Technology foundation

The solution is based on Hyperledger Fabric, a permissioned blockchain technology running on the IBM Blockchain Platform and supported by AWS cloud infrastructure. This technology is particularly well suited for supply chains as it grants access only to authorised participants while providing an immutable record of all transactions and movements in oil and gas distribution.

## Sources

- [Blockchain Revolutionizes Supply Chain Logistics](https://chatsoft.com/stories/blockchain-revolutionizes-supply-chain-logistics/)
- [IBM Blockchain Supply Chain Solutions](https://www.ibm.com/solutions)