Oman aims to produce 1 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030 in net-zero push

The sultanate has set up a company to oversee its hydrogen production plans

Oman, the Middle East's largest non-Opec oil producer, plans to reach net zero by 2050. Getty

Oman plans to produce a million tons of green hydrogen by 2030 and has set up a state-owned company as part of its plan to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Hydrogen Oman, better known as Hydrom, will be a subsidiary of Oman’s state-owned Energy Development Oman, the sultanate's state media reported on Sunday.

Oman has earmarked two blocks in the southern port city of Duqm and another four blocks in Salalah to be tendered for the development of green hydrogen projects.

On November 6, Hydrom will open a first public bid round to award the first land blocks by 2023 to meet its production target.

Hydrom will oversee the development and construction of the projects, while working closely with the Oman’s Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones to set up infrastructure such as roads, power lines and other installations.

“Oil and gas, electricity, industry and transportation, as well as the construction field — all of these sectors are interconnected,” said Minister of Energy and Minerals Salim Al Aufi.

The main goal shared by the sectors is to work towards the achievement of Oman’s net-zero target by 2050, he said.

Earlier this year, Oman’s Public Establishment for Industrial Estates, better known as Madayn, joined forces with the US company H2 Industries to establish a $1.4 billion waste-to-hydrogen plant in the Gulf country.

Hydrogen is expected to account for 12 per cent of global energy use and 10 per cent of carbon emission reductions by 2050, driven by the urgency of climate change and countries’ net-zero commitments, the International Renewable Energy Agency said.

It comes in various forms, including blue, green and grey hydrogen. Blue and grey are derived from natural gas while green is produced using renewable sources.

“It is our responsibility to look at the international markets, the local markets and understand what the demands are,” said Hydrom's acting executive director Firas Al-Abdawani.

“The supply-chain disruption that happened due to Covid and [recent] world changes … make Oman ideally located to actually bring in some industries … that would benefit from green hydrogen or low-carbon hydrogen.”

Last month, the UAE’s Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure signed an agreement with GHD in partnership with the Germany-based Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft to develop its National Hydrogen Strategy.

As part of the UAE's Hydrogen Roadmap and the continued commitment to decarbonisation and energy transition, the National Hydrogen Strategy will help to establish the UAE's hydrogen vision and shape as one of its strategies to diversify its energy mix and achieve its net-zero goals by 2050.