In March, 2019 the co-founder of PROLEUM and Managing Partner of Petroleum Trading Maxim Dyachenko shared with representatives of the blockchain portal DeCenter about the latest news of development of the platform, told about PROLEUM in the future and what results the company and the market of oil products are expecting.
— Tell about creation of PROLEUM. Did you see the need for a blockchain from participants of the market of oil products, from clients of Petroleum Trading or you began to work on the project just to show the possibility of application of a blockchain in this industry?
More likely, we came to applicability of blockchain technology accidentally. We were engaged in process automation of interaction with our buyers and suppliers, at first introduced the e-flow (electronic workflows. — DeCenter). Than we created a Telegram bot (@ptomskbot), it has been started to count the offers automated, quickly and without our participation. The following step we decided to integrate this systems with our CRM and have failed. It was expensive and everything worked very slowly. At the same time the outbreak connected with the blockchain was rising, we began to interested in technology and found out that, first, it can solve our problems, and secondly, allows us to improve our service and in general to change a paradigm of the relations with the client. The mission of PROLEUM is to join the buyers of oil products in one place, they become holders of nodes, provide network functioning and create a demand for oil products. Also, the main idea is in giving to buyers the market power.
— News about the beginning of industrial use of PROLEUM appeared in July of last year, and at that time the platform functioned without tokens. Explain in what format the platform worked these months, in what currency were the calculations and how it works now, during the sale of tokens?
As now the platform works only at the territory of the Russian Federation, all calculations on blockchain contracts are performed in rubles. Unfortunately, calculations in a cryptocurrency between the companies are still future (I hope, not so far). In the next 3−4 months we are going to start the loyalty program for participants of the platform and we going to award cryptocurrency on their wallets for each transaction in a system. Than we going to start the "draw" of large consignments of oil products (minimum lot at us 60 tons — about 3 million rubles) among holders of tokens of PRL. So, at the end of this year or at the beginning of 2020 we will carry out the first transaction on exchange of oil products for cryptocurrency within the legislation which we have. By the same time we will have several hundreds of the companies — the participants of the market and PROLEUM holding PRL currency. And then we'll see.
— According to white paper, the commissions on the platform and access "to a number of algorithms" have to be paid in tokens. What algorithms and additional services will be available for tokens in the future?
Two of our algorithms will be paid: KYC and Algorithm of the forecast of future prices. Both in the basis are based on artificial intelligence and the main know-how of Petroleum Trading. KYC allows to participants of network to estimate the risk at the conclusion of the transaction with the contractor and to choose an optimum ratio risk/benefit. It scans databases in the online mode (UPRLP, Arbitration, Credit Information System, base of property and etc.), takes a rate to the counterparty and predicts terms and probability of execution of obligations, recommends an optimum margin for risk level and volumes of your operations. We use and improve algorithm more than two years and now we begin the neural network training, we expect to have an additional opportunities of the analysis of data and to increase the speed of development of this direction. The algorithm of the forecast analyzes all factors having an impact on pricing in the market of oil products, uses statistical methods of forecasting, and makes probabilistic models. We allocate about 29 basic, constantly changing indicators. I can say that that monitoring 24/7 for it, comparing and test the hypothesis is beyond someone's capacity. Analysts, who can work at high level with such data cost rather much in labor market. Both of these services will be available on a subscription and to single inquiry. It should also be noted that in common they are capable to save and bring millions of rubles to clients.
— The platform celebrated 8 months since the beginning of industrial use. What success during this time managed to be achieved? What dynamics of the user base, conclusion of transactions on smart contracts, volume of transactions?
We have the following results for 28 of Februrary:
- In a system was signed 518 contracts, totally for 31.975 tons of oil products;
- The turnover 1.692 billion rubles, or about $26 million;
- Number of organization, making transactions in the system — 69;
- Number of organizations, registered and considering documents for connection — 158;
- Until the end of May we have to receive the decision of arbitration court of the Russian Federation on the bargains concluded with use of PROLEUM;
In January PROLEUM became the resident of Skolkovo
— Whether there is already some interesting partnership? Whether someone from your clients is going to join the platform? Whether the full transferring of transactions of Petroleum Trading to a blockchain is planned?
Now it is only negotiations. At the same time we even more connect the future of the project with partnership, than with investors, and are entirely open for it. Now we prepare the first international transaction. There is an interest of potential partners from China and Kazakhstan, but it is early to disclose details. We know this market thoroughly inside, so the partners, investors and suppliers will come where will be stable, convenient, effective and low-risky demand. First of all we are focused on transferring all the buyers of Petroleum Trading for work to a system and to provide them exclusive service, it is more than 900 companies in 78 regions of Russia and 6 neighboring countries.