MUSCAT: Oman’s Minister of Energy and Minerals, Salim bin Nasser al Aufi, chaired a meeting on Tuesday of top officials overseeing the delivery of multi-billion dollar worth common-use infrastructure that will be serve as a lifeline for mega-scale green hydrogen projects slated for implementation in the Sultanate of Oman.
Investments in the common utilities infrastructure are estimated at $5 billion encompassing three core components: Electricity Transmission; Desalination + Pipeline networks for Water & Wastewater; and Hydrogen Pipelines. Also necessary to support the storage and export of green hydrogen and its derivatives are investments in tankage and storage capacity, dedicated jetties and related facilities.
“The (meeting) shed light on the shared infrastructure framework development and outlined the programme’s direction for the future,” said Hydrom, the independent orchestrator and master-planner of Oman’s green hydrogen industry, in a post.
On the heels of the meeting came the announcement by Hydrom that it has invited interested parties to submit their Statement of Qualifications (SoQ) for Round 2 of the land auction process for green hydrogen projects. Up for grabs under this competitive process are three land blocks, covering a total area of 960 sq kilometres, in Dhofar Governorate. Registrations for Round 2 (Phase A) opened on June 22, 2023. Final awards are expected at the end of Q1 2024.
As part of its remit, Hydrom – a subsidiary of state-owned Energy Development Oman (EDO) – is strategizing the development of common utilities infrastructure designed to make it attractive and cost-competitive for international investors to produce green hydrogen – the zero carbon fuel at the heart of Oman’s green energy future.
Over the past couple of months, Hydrom has signed agreements with international developers and their partners (including some of the biggest names in the energy industry worldwide), collectively targeting the production of 1 million tonnes per annum of green hydrogen by 2030, with a combined investment of a staggering $30 billion.
In its role as master-planner, Hydrom is enlisting the support of an array of government and public sector agencies, national utility operators, specialist service providers and developers in a collaborative effort to map out the common utility requirements of this future industry. In June, it announced plans for the formation of an advisory body comprising representatives of all key stakeholders investing in this new sector.
Designated ‘National Champions”, such as OQ Gas Networks, Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC), Nama Water Services, and Oman Tank Terminal Company (OTTCO), among others, are expected to play a critical role in the development and operation of some of these components.
Present at Tuesday’s meeting were top officials representing key stakeholders, including Energy Development Oman (EDO), Authority for Public Services Regulation (APSR), OQ Group, Centralised Utilities Company (Marafiq), Asyad Group, Oman Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ), Nama Group and others.
Source: OMAN DAILY OBSERVER
Date: 30 Aug 2023
