Sustainable Oil and Gas Using Blockchain

Description

This monograph explores the potential of blockchain technology to facilitate the transition in the oil and gas (O&G) industry. As the world shifts towards a sustainable energy future, the oil and gas industry faces significant challenges and opportunities. Focusing on the development of a sustainable O&G industry, the book delves into the role of climate and financial markets in the energy sector, applications of blockchain in sustainable energy development, and the challenges of legal and regulatory issues in applying blockchain technology. It provides insight into how the energy industry is already working on reducing carbon emissions and paving the way to a sustainable future with detailed examples of reducing methane emissions, carbon credit markets, sustainable aviation fuels, and plastics. The book also examines how O&G companies could further their sustainability initiatives using blockchain technology for emission data monitoring, carbon capture, utilization, storage, and supply-chain management to develop clean products.   Foreword Acknowledgments Contents About the Authors Part I Foundations 1 Energy Transition: Challenges and Opportunities for the Oil & Gas Industry 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Oil and Gas in Energy Transition 1.3 Modernization and Digitization 1.3.1 Internet of Things 1.3.2 Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence 1.3.3 Blockchain Technology 1.4 Low-Carbon Fuels 1.4.1 Biofuels 1.4.2 Sustainable Aviation Fuels 1.4.3 Certified Gas 1.4.4 Blue Hydrogen 1.5 Harnessing Underground & Offshore Facilities & Expertise 1.5.1 Underground Hydrogen Storage 1.5.2 Geological Carbon Sequestration 1.5.3 Geothermal Energy 1.5.4 Offshore Wind and Solar 1.6 Summary and Conclusion References 2 Climate and Financial Markets 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Climate Investing and the ESG Boom 2.3 Effect on the Oil and Gas Industry 2.4 Who Will Own the Energy Transition? 2.5 War and the SEC: A Reset 2.6 Summary and Conclusion References 3 Introduction to Blockchain 3.1 Introduction 3.2 A Brief History of Money and Ledger 3.3 A Brief History of Blockchain 3.4 Introduction to Cryptography 3.5 Distributed and Decentralized Networks 3.6 Consensus Mechanism 3.7 Blockchain Networks 3.8 Smart Contracts 3.9 Blockchain Governance 3.10 Summary and Conclusion References 4 Blockchain: Legal and Regulatory Issues 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Private Law 4.2.1 Contract Law 4.2.2 Allocation of Liability 4.2.3 Property Law 4.3 Criminal Law 4.3.1 Cybersecurity Attacks 4.3.2 Money Laundering Issues 4.4 Public and Administrative Law 4.4.1 Securities Law 4.4.2 Commodities Law 4.4.3 Privacy and Data Protection 4.4.4 Taxation Laws 4.5 Regulatory Approaches to Blockchain Technology in Various Jurisdictions 4.5.1 United States 4.5.2 Gibraltar 4.5.3 Estonia 4.5.4 Malta 4.5.5 Switzerland 4.5.6 Liechtenstein 4.5.7 Extraterritorial Jurisdiction and the Applicability of Local Laws 4.6 Smart Contracts 4.6.1 Defining Smart Contracts 4.6.2 Evolution and Rise of Smart Contracts in the Energy Sector 4.6.3 Formation of Smart Contracts 4.6.4 Modification and Performance of Smart Contracts 4.6.5 Enforcement, Termination, Rescission and Dispute Resolution Mechanisms 4.6.6 Selected Challenges in the Application of Smart Contracts 4.6.7 Compatibility of Smart Contracts with Consumer Protection Laws—Applicability of Unfair Contract Terms Provisions 4.6.8 Security and Privacy Risks 4.6.9 Setting the Scene of Smart Contracts—Regulatory Initiatives in Various Countries on Smart Contracts 4.7 Summary and Conclusion References Part II Applications 5 Blockchain and Sustainable Energy 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Blockchain Sustainability 5.3 Sustainable Energy Applications 5.3.1 Monitoring, Verifying, and Reporting (MRV) 5.3.2 Certified and Tokenized Differentiated Fuels 5.3.3 Carbon Credits and Offsets 5.3.4 Renewable Energy Certificates 5.3.5 Energy Internet of Things (e-IoT) 5.3.6 Integrated Distributed Electricity Network 5.3.7 Energy Commodity Trading 5.3.8 Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading 5.3.9 Internet of Vehicles 5.3.10 Energy Data Management 5.3.11 Supply-Chain Management 5.4 Case Study—Tokenizing Emission Data and Other Verifiable Environmental Attributes 5.4.1 Monitoring and Certification 5.4.2 Monetization and Markets 5.4.3 Blockchain and Tokenization 5.4.4 Regulations and Standardization 5.5 Challenges and Risks of Blockchain in the Energy 5.5.1 Workforce Digital Skills 5.5.2 Standardization and Interoperability 5.5.3 The Oracle Problem 5.5.4 Legal and Regulatory Issues 5.6 Summary and Conclusion References 6 Reducing Methane Emissions 6.1 Introduction 6.1.1 Oil and Gas in a Net Zero Future 6.1.2 Oil and Gas in the Measurement Economy 6.2 The Scale of the Methane Emissions Problem 6.3 Solving the Methane Problem 6.3.1 Methane Measurement Tools 6.3.2 Standard-Setting Agencies and Certificate Registries 6.3.3 ESG Investors and Sustainable Finance 6.3.4 Low-Carbon Fuels 6.3.5 Methane Regulation 6.3.6 Landowners and Royalty Laws 6.3.7 Voluntary Commitments 6.4 Reducing Methane Emissions 6.5 The Role of Blockchain: Emissions Management and Governance 6.5.1 Blockchain for Methane Data Governance 6.5.2 Blockchain Law and Regulation 6.6 Emission Tokens and Digital Assets 6.6.1 Performance Certificates 6.6.2 Tracking Emission Reductions 6.6.3 Financing Emission Reductions 6.7 Summary and Conclusion References 7 Carbon Capture and Storage 7.1 Introduction 7.2 The Technology Behind Carbon Capture and Storage 7.3 Policy, Investment, and Economics 7.4 Safety, Risks, and Regulations 7.5 Accounting for CCS 7.6 Blockchain for CCS 7.7 Valuing Carbon Capture with Emissions Tokens 7.8 Accounting for Enhanced Oil Recovery with Carbon Storage 7.9 Summary and Conclusion References 8 Sustainable Aviation and Transportation Fuels 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Looking for the Right Oil 8.3 Energy 2.0 8.4 The Role for the Blockchain 8.5 Summary and Conclusion References 9 Sustainable Plastics 9.1 Introduction 9.2 How Bad Is the Plastics Problem? 9.3 Solving the Plastics Problem 9.4 Solving the Plastics Problem with Blockchain 9.5 A Sustainable Plastic Economy with Blockchain 9.6 Summary and Conclusion References 10 Carbon Credit Markets 10.1 Introduction 10.2 How Carbon Markets Work 10.3 Key Problems of Carbon Markets 10.4 Fixing the Carbon Markets 10.5 Role for Blockchain in the Carbon Markets 10.6 Summary and Conclusion References Interviewees Interview 1: Aaron Lohmann, Karl Osterbuhr, Dan Cearnau (EarnDLT Team) Interview 2: Bryan Hassler Interview 3: Jasmine Zhu Interview 4: John Westerheide Interview 5: Kari Hassler Interview 6: Kelly Bott Interview 7: Sriram Srinivasan Interview 8: Steve Swanson Closing Thoughts