Oman’s 25 GW RE Project To Become Future Ready

NTPC Green Energy Ltd Joins Hands with Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port for Green Hydrogen Hub

An international consortium is developing a 25GW renewable project in Oman to produce 1.8 millions of tons per annum of green hydrogen and up to 10 million tons per annum of green ammonia by 2030 to make the Middle Eastern country a leading player in truly zero carbon fuels.

The consortium — comprised of OQ (Oman’s national oil company), InterContinental Energy (a Hong Kong-based green projects developer) and EnerTech (a Kuwait government-backed clean energy investor and developer) — is working on the development of the Green Energy Oman (GEO) integrated green fuels mega project.

Given the project’s location between Europe and Asia, as well as excellent solar irradiance and wind resource facing the Arabian Sea, many believe the development in Oman is well positioned to offer a secure and reliable supply of green fuels globally at a highly competitive price. The hydrogen so produced can be used locally, exported directly, or converted into green ammonia for international export.

In January this year, bp and Oman partnered to make progress on the integrated project, which will include onshore wind, solar and green hydrogen production, in support of Oman’s 2040 Vision. As part of the agreement, bp will capture and evaluate solar and wind data from 8,000km2 of land – an area more than five times the size of Greater London. The evaluation will then support the government of Oman in approving the future developments of renewable energy hubs at suitable locations within this area to take advantage of these resources.

Earlier this week, Australian engineering company Worley, which provides project and asset services in the energy, chemicals, and resources sectors, was contracted to carry out a concept feasibility study to develop and challenge GEO’s green hydrogen energy project.

Green hydrogen is expected to grow into a US$2.5 trillion market by 2050. Demand comes from the shipping sector, which requires green ammonia for its significant decarbonization needs, the aviation sector, which will utilise synthetic fuels made from green hydrogen, parts of the ground transportation sector, such as rail and trucking, which are expected to adopt green hydrogen as a fuel source, as well as heavy industry located in areas such as North West Europe that will use green hydrogen to fuel their industrial processes including the production of steel.

Further, power companies across East Asia with a legacy reliance on coal and gas are planning to transition to green ammonia in order to reduce their carbon emissions.

In addition to defining the project components, the Worley study will identify opportunities to enhance in-country value delivered from the expected 10-year project implementation period. This includes employment and development for Omani nationals and value adds through local manufacturing and supply by Oman’s companies across the supply chain.