Progress in Oman mega-projects

By Julian Atchison on June 25, 2023

Hydrom: term sheets signed, land allocated

Irradiation and wind energy potential in Oman, which will be harnessed to produce more than one million tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year from 2030. Source: Hydrom.
Click to enlarge. Irradiation and wind energy potential in Oman, which will be harnessed to produce more than one million tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year from 2030. Source: Hydrom.

Hydrom was launched by the Oman government in 2022 to steer development of important hydrogen projects in the Gulf nation. In March, commercial term sheets worth more than $20 billion were signed with six major projects underway in Oman, and in news this month, Hydrom has just announced the results of its first land allocation auction. Aiming to meet a national production target of one million tonnes per year of renewable hydrogen by 2030, three projects were awarded land allocations in Duqm:

  • The Amnah Consortium (led by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners), which is developing a renewable hydrogen for steel project in Duqm.
  • BP Oman, which is reportedly developing a hydrogen-as-ammonia export project.
  • and Green Energy Oman, a mega-project being developed by Shell, InterContinental Energy, OQ and EnerTech.

Taken together, the three account for the production of 500,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year, and around 12 GW of new build renewable energy generation. The head-usufruct agreements cover both land for renewable energy installations, and the hydrogen/ammonia production facilities themselves. Over 50,000 km2 near Duqm and in the neighboring Dhofar governorate has been set aside for renewable hydrogen projects, with more land allocation auctions to follow. Hydrom announced the auction results (and future plans) in a live event: you can watch the replay here.

ENGIE & POSCO: forty years of ammonia exports to Korea

Also this month, Hydrom has signed commercial development agreements with two additional project consortia.

ENGIE and POSCO are planning an export mega-project near Duqm. 5 GW of wind and solar generating capacity and an advanced battery storage system will drive the production of 1.2 million tonnes per year of renewable ammonia from 2030. A 47-year contract for the project has already been signed (seven years development, forty years operation), with all the produced ammonia to be exported to Korea.

The second project is being developed by the HYPORT Duqm consortium, led by DEME Concessions and OQ. Also an ammonia export project, the first stage of HYPORT is being developed outside the Duqm Special Economic Zone (where the above-mentioned land allocations are being granted), but reports indicate the second stage will be located fully within this zone. Uniper is already exploring the potential of ammonia off take from the HYPORT project.