Today Gazpromneft Aero, the aviation fuel division of Gazprom Neft, announced it has tested its blockchain smart fueling system in more than 100 scheduled flights. The trial involved airline Smartavia, VT Bank and Raiffeisenbank and is now ready to ramp up into production.
The oil company reckons it cuts payment processing times from four or five days to 15 minutes. Refueling an aircraft is challenging because oil prices are not static and the airline may not know exactly how much fuel they need until the last minute. Using blockchain smart payments avoids the need for advanced payment or a bank guarantee.
“This revolutionary approach to aircraft refuelling is particularly important for our airline — it makes the process fast, transparent anrefuelingte,” said Sergey Savostin, CEO Smartavia.
Many airlines have entire offices that are dedicated to refueling invoices and tracking the costs and paperwork. There’s no need for an airline to reconcile its paperwork to the fuel company’s invoices because the agreed amount is on the blockchain.
Given the pandemic, the app eliminates direct contact between aircraft crew and ground staff and avoids the need for paperwork to be shared. The pilot uses a tablet-based app and there’s a module on the refueling truck. Plus, the payment is digital.
When the fuel truck arrives and is told how much fuel is needed, an initial payment transfer request is sent to the bank to block funds. After the refueling is completed, the aircraft captain will adjust the payment amount and authorize the final payment.
“Our new digital Smart Fuel system has facilitated our partners processes and increased the financial security of mutual settlements, which is extremely important in the current macroeconomic conditions,” said Anatoly Cermer, Deputy CEO at Gazprom Neft. “The system has a high potential for scaling up across the entire industry.”
In August 2018, Gazprom was involved in another blockchain refueling trial with airline S7 and Alfabank. It’s also a participant in a Russian blockchain bank guarantee platform alongside both Raffeissennank and VTB.