Oman's Hydrom signs two green hydrogen project contracts

The Sultanate of Oman is making good on its promises to become a global renewable hydrogen supplier by awarding multi-billion-dollar engineering and construction contracts to consortiums of South Korean and European companies.

PHOTO: Signing ceremony between Hydrom and POSCO-Engie for one of the green hydrogen projects in Oman on 21 June. Hydrom

The agreements are aimed at kickstarting engineering and construction of renewable power plants and hydrogen production facilities in the Duqm area. One of the a consortiums include the Omani national oil company OQ and Belgian contractor DEME, and the other is led by South Korea’s POSCO and French utility firm Engie.

Oman has laid out ambitious plans to build Duqm into a global renewable hydrogen and ammonia production hub, hoping that the region’s strategic location at the mouth of the Arabian Sea will place Oman as a top supplier of alternative hydrogen-based fuels in the future.

The consortium including DEME and OQ will now start detailed engineering for the HYPORT Duqm project. Spread over 150 square kilometres in the Special Economic zone at Duqm, the project is designed to produce wind and solar energy of around 1.3 GW in its first phase.

In the first phase, the companies are expected to produce around 330,000 mt of green ammonia, and then scale this up to more than 650,000 mt in the second phase.

The companies have been allotted land block of 340 square kilometres in Duqm, where solar and wind parks with 5 GW in renewable energy capacity will be built. The renewable energy will be used to power a green hydrogen plant with a nameplate capacity of 200 mt/year

The hydrogen produced at the plant is expected to be moved through a pipeline to the Port of Duqm, where it will feed an ammonia production plant. 1.2 million mt/year of green hydrogen produced at Duqm will be exported to South Korea by 2030, the companies said.

The two contracts are estimated to be worth $10 billion, according to the Oman state news agency.

Last week, the International Energy Agency (IEA) highlighted Oman's "high-quality renewable energy resources" and "vast tracts of land" as ideal for producing low-emission hydrogen. These new projects will help the country to meet its target to produce 1 million mt/year of renewable hydrogen by 2030, and 3.75 million mt/year by 2040.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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