Shell takes key role in Oman ammonia supergiant
By on January 18, 2023
OQ and Shell have agreed for the latter to acquire a 35% stake and operatorship of the Green Energy Oman (GEO) project, a renewable ammonia supergiant under development on the Oman coast. Shell joins OQ, InterContinental Energy and EnerTech in the project consortium, which was launched in 2018. In a phased approach, 25 GW of wind and solar generation will be developed to power the production of around 1.8 million tonnes per year of renewable hydrogen, or just over 10 million tonnes of renewable ammonia annually.
The entry of Shell to this vital project constitutes a qualitative step that will enable the consortium to benefit from their advanced global expertise in this field. This will surely contribute to achieving the desired objectives of the project. We are pleased with the progress made by the project during the past few years and look forward to enhancing our cooperation with our partners in this project.
OQ CEO of Alternative Energy Najla Bint Zuhair Al-Jamali in the Oman Ministry of Energy and Minerals’ official press release, 10 Jan 2023
With our entry to the Green Energy Oman (GEO) consortium, we are taking a further step to advance lower and zero emissions energy projects in Oman. The project remains in its early phase, but this is a sign of the potential we see for Oman through the energy transition.
Oman Shell Senior Vice President and Country Chair Walid Hadi in the Oman Ministry of Energy and Minerals’ official press release, 10 Jan 2023
The deep experience and expertise that Shell brings is a major step towards bringing our mega-project to the next phase. ICE has been working in partnership with Oman and our partners since 2018, and today marks an important milestone in realizing the vision for the GEO project to deliver more than 1.8 million tons per annum of green hydrogen to accelerate the energy transition both in Oman and internationally.
InterContinental Energy Head of Middle East Tony Nieman in his organisation’s official press release, 19 Jan 2023
Entry of the oil & gas majors
The news from Oman follows bp’s decision to assume a majority stake and operatorship of the Australian Renewable Energy Hub mega project in June last year. bp’s interest in hydrogen & ammonia also extends to the UK and continental Europe. Total are pushing ahead with ammonia energy on a number of fronts (and via a number of subsidiaries): a production megaproject in Chile, ammonia production near the Suez Canal, ammonia imports to Germany, CCS ammonia in Norway, renewable projects in India, and the realisation of ammonia as a maritime fuel (to name a few initiatives). And last year we saw the entrance of Chevron and ExxonMobil, with a number of projects in the USA and beyond.