Lesley Bankes-HughesA consortium between sustainable infrastructure investor, Actis, and Fortescue, a green energy, metals and technology company, has been awarded the rights to develop, build, own and operate a large green hydrogen project in Oman.
At a signing ceremony in Muscat earlier this week, Hydrogen Oman SPC (Hydrom), an independent entity founded by the Omani government to develop and deliver the nation’s green hydrogen strategy, announced the consortium was a winning bidder in the second round of a green hydrogen tender process.
The project, which is currently at the feasibility stage, is expected to involve construction of up to c.4.5GW of wind and solar renewable energy resources that will power electrolysers with the potential to produce up to 200,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year.
According to current plans, the hydrogen is expected to be sold to local industrial offtakers as well as processed into derivatives (such as green ammonia) for export via the Port of Salalah.
HE Eng Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, Minister of Energy and Minerals and Chairman of Hydrom, said: “Oman is strategically located between two key green hydrogen demand centres in Europe and Asia. This, in addition to, our tier-1 infrastructure and logistics capabilities have enabled us to leverage our first mover advantage in the global hydrogen industry.
‘The availability of renewable natural resources in Oman coupled with the country’s favourable geopolitical positioning, investor-friendly policies and progressive energy transition strategies make it one of the most suitable countries for green hydrogen production.
Fortescue and Actis are both major players in the green energy space globally. Actis has antrack record developing renewable power projects, with around 21GW of renewable energy capacity (16GW operational, 5GW under construction or contracted) managed by the firm to date. Fortescue has a pipeline of projects globally, including three which have reached Final Investment Decisions.
Moataz Kandil, MENA President at Fortescue, also commented: ‘Actis and Fortescue are completely in sync with our ambitions to decarbonise and create a new green energy industry globally. We share a common vision for the pivotal role that green hydrogen and green ammonia will play in forging a sustainable future.
‘Oman not only has great natural resources, but it is also in an ideal location for export and has set up the structures and regulations needed to help enable this industry to flourish. This strategic partnership between Hydrom, Actis and Fortescue will not only help to drive the development of a large-scale green hydrogen project in Oman, but will lead the way for others around the world to follow, cementing Oman as a powerhouse in green molecules.’
Ian Taylor
Rhys Berry
