StockTrack system : Govt will not pay a dime to HFields

HFields Limited says its proposed solution to the petroleum downstream has nothing to do with revenue assurance on behalf of the government.
Known as StockTrack, the system provides end-to-end primary supply assurance and management systems to deepen transparency in the supply chain in the petroleum downstream.
The system will transform existing manual processes into automated ones.
The clarification was in response to media reports suggesting that HFields was seeking a revenue assurance contract with the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).
Founder and Chairman of HFields, Senyo Hosi, who is an expert in the petroleum downstream, explained that the system would not cost the government any money.
Rather, he said stakeholders such as banks and international oil traders would pay for using the system.
The technology which was developed locally aims to provide a tailored solution to meet the needs of all stakeholders in terms of ensuring visibility in the supplies of petroleum products into the country.
This includes stock monitoring and collateral management as well as addressing risks associated with the supply, trading, and financing of petroleum products.
The objectives include providing end-to-end inventory visibility required to drive product supply assurance and planning; facilitating real-time reporting on issues related to supply for sector management; optimizing stock risk management for financiers; de-risking the funding of the BIDEC and refinery supply chain; providing a secure data repository; and digitizing and authenticating processes in the primary product supply chain.
The company submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Energy which described StockTrack as a unique innovation with real potential to enhance regulatory oversight and monitoring within the petroleum downstream sector.
The Ministry said it finds the key features of StockTrack system relevant to current needs and has forward the proposal to the NPA.
The regulator is doing stakeholder engagement after which it will submit its recommendations to the Ministry before a contract would be signed.
Mr. Hosi, a downstream petroleum expert and Entrepreneur, noted that the system has nothing to do with providing revenue assurance as wrongly purported in the media.
He noted that the StockTrack system is central petroleum stock monitoring and stock-risk management software for Bulk Oil Import Distribution and Export Companies (BIDECs) operating in the country and the country’s refinery supply chain.
He added that the system is a supply chain execution data nexus of key supply actors comprising the regulator, financiers, international oil traders (IOTs), local petroleum service providers (PSPs), and related service providers.
Mr. Hosi said that with the system, the NPA would have full visibility of everything that is happening in the petroleum downstream sector, giving the regulator preemptive information and visibility to de-risk challenges in the sector and make decisions to ensure the supply of petroleum is sustained.
According to him, it ensures transparency throughout the primary supply chain processes in the downstream sector so that every player in the downstream sector can see and track in real-time everything that is going on because the system captures all movements of the cargoes that come into the country.
Mr. Hosi also stated that the system would provide NPA with preemptive capabilities to risk-manage fuel supply security vulnerabilities, have full visibility of happenings in the sector, and ensure petroleum supply sustainability.
For BIDECs, he said the system would allow them to have increased access to credit; clear accountability on laycan defaults, and be able to ring-fence legacy transactions to facilitate trade.
“The IOTs and the banks have been trying to reduce their risk because they do not have control. Giving them control will enable them to stay in a more efficient manner.
“IOTs are funding the sector, so anybody funding the sector will find this a lot more functional for their credit risk management,” he said.
Mr. Viraj Bhat, Chief Technology Officer of HFields, said the technology had been built to meet ISO 27001 standards.
It, therefore, has encryptions, two-factor authentications, blockchain integration capabilities, and redundancy systems, and would be subjected to a quarterly vulnerability assessment to ensure its operational effectiveness and efficiency.