Oman’s state-owned hydrogen company Hydrom has signed agreements with two separate consortiums to develop green hydrogen projects in Dhofar, according to statements here and here. The investment ticket of the two projects combined total USD 11 bn, according to Times of Oman, which added that the agreements bring Oman’s total planned hydrogen production to 1.38 mn tons per year by 2030. The signings follow the completion of Hydrom’s second round of auctions launched in June 2023, which Hydrom said was looking to raise USD 20-30 bn in investments from.

First up, the Actis-led consortium agreement: A two-party consortium led by UK-based private equity outfit Actis and includes Australian green energy firm Fortescue signed an agreement with Hydrom to develop, build, own and operate a 200k ton per year green hydrogen facility currently in its feasibility stage, the statement said. The agreement includes the construction of 4.5 GW of wind and solar plants which will be used to power the electrolyzers. The green hydrogen produced will both be sold to local industrial offtakers, as well as processed into green ammonia for export via the Salalah port.

Next, the EDF consortium: A consortium led by France’s state-owned energy firm EDF Group including Japanese electricity generator Electric Power Development (J-Power) and UK green hydrogen and ammonia producer Yamna signed an agreement with Hydrom to develop, build, own, operate and maintain a green ammonia project. The plant will have a capacity to produce 1 mn tons per year, according to the statement. The consortium plans to build 4.5 GW of wind and solar stations coupled with battery storage and a 2.5 GW electrolyser. The produced hydrogen would then be supplied to an ammonia plant to be built in the Salalah Free Zone. The project will aim to produce 178k tons per year of green hydrogen by 2030, the Times of Oman reported.

The EDF consortium secured land too: The EDF consortium signed a sub-usufruct agreement for a 341 sqkm bloc of land in Dhofar to be allocated for the development of the newly signed project for a period of 47 years.

REMEMBER- Hydrom is supporting Oman’s goal to become a global green hydrogen hub: Hydrogen signed an agreement with German gas importer VNG AG in March to explore the feasibility of establishing a green hydrogen and ammonia value chain between the two countries. The firm is also working on establishing a green hydrogen infrastructure company which will work on projects across the Al Wusta and Dhofar governorates. Hydrom signed an agreement with the Hyport Duqm Consortium — a JV between DEME Concessions and OQ Alternative Energy — last year for the construction of a green hydrogen production facility to produce some 1 mn tons of green ammonia. Hydrom also granted 320 sq km to the Green Energy Oman consortium last June for a hydrogen plant that is powered by 4 GW of renewable energy, and with the capacity to generate c.150k tons of the green fuel.

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