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Hydrom in deal to develop green hydrogen projects in Oman

MUSCAT, March 14, 2023

In a major step towards achieving sustainable energy goals, Hydrogen Oman (Hydrom) today (March 14) signed multiple term sheets with a number of developers specialising in green hydrogen projects. 
 
A subsidiary of Energy Development Oman, Hydrom said the agreements with Green Energy Oman (GEO), Green Hydrogen and Chemicals (owned by ACME), Hyport Duqm consortium and SalalaH2 consortium covered six projects located in the proximity of Duqm or Salalah ports, while the deal with BP Alternative Energy Investments was for a project in Duqm and another in Dhofar.
 
This is in compliance with the royal decree issued last month stipulating a clear process to structure clean hydrogen projects and directing the method of land allocation on principles of equal opportunity, fairness and equitability for developers and acknowledging the role of legacy Initiatives and earlier commitments made with investors.
 
Hydrom Chairman Engineer Salim Al Aufi said this milestone follows the preliminary agreements signed with these leading energy companies before issuance of a clear regulatory framework by the Ministry of Energy and Minerals being the policy maker and regulator of the sector. 
 
These developments will require an installed capacity of approximately 15GW of renewable energy in Oman and total expected investments of around $20 billion (including shared infrastructure), stated Al Aufi. 
 
According to him, these projects are expected to provide over 700,000 tonnes of green hydrogen which would be further processed in local industries and into energy carriers for export. 
 
On the deals, Minister of Energy and Minerals Engineer Salim Al Aufi said: "The signing of these binding commercial term sheets with the first green hydrogen project developers is a significant step in our journey towards decarbonization and in line with our goal to achieve Net Zero target by 2050."
 
"While these agreements form the first testimony of our success towards decarbonization, we look forward to signing more agreements once we receive the results of the first public auction round that is currently being conducted by Hydrom," he added.
 
Director General of Renewable Energy and Clean Hydrogen at the Ministry, Engineer Abdulaziz Al Shidhani said: "Today’s milestone is another step to deliver on Oman’s green hydrogen strategy announced in October last year. We witnessed today commitments made by key developers coming from Belgium, Japan, UK, Netherlands, India, UAE, Kuwait, Singapore, Germany, and Oman."
 
Al Shidhani said Oman has set a clear roadmap towards decarbonization and achieving Net Zero by 2050, and Hydrom has been established as an orchestrator of green hydrogen industry in Oman, regulated by the Ministry of Energy and Minerals.
 
"Propelled by values of sustainability, transparency, efficiency, agility, and innovation, Oman has the overarching vision of positioning itself as a leading global green hydrogen hub by enabling the delivery of projects competitively and at scale for the world," he added.
 
Hydrom Acting Managing Director Dr Firas Al Abduwani said legacy initiatives have followed the Omani group’s process since its inception and agreed to the main commercial principles set out in the public auction which enables fair and transparent allocation of lands.
 
"We are looking forward to closing the final forms of agreements soon with our partners. We will also begin with our bid evaluation process on the public auction to deliver our promise to the government," he added.
 
Energy Development Oman CEO Engineer Mazin Al Lamki expressed delight at the sealing of the agreements, which, he stated, was the result of long and hard work from both sides, thus marking an important milestone for Oman as a leading green hydrogen hub. 
 
"Hydrom kicked off its first public auction round for land plots in November last year and the winning bidder will be announced by the end of next month," he added.-TradeArabia News Service



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