Oman signs land deal for new green hydrogen plant

Oman has signed a land allocation deal allowing privately-owned Indian renewables firm Acme to kick-start the development of a new green hydrogen and ammonia project at Duqm Port.

The proposed plant will cost an estimated $3.5bn to build and will be developed in phases, with the first planned to be commissioned as early as the end of 2022. It will use 3GW of solar and 500MW of wind energy to produce approximately 900,000 t/yr of ammonia for export, Acme said.

An initial agreement on the project was signed in March. Now that land has been allocated for the scheme, pre-construction activity can begin. "We plan to start the construction at Oman as soon as we commission our first green hydrogen and green ammonia plant at Bikaner in India," Acme chairman Manoj Upadhyay said.

In mid-May, Oman's state-owned energy firm OQ announced plans to develop the country's first green hydrogen project alongside Hong Kong-based InterContinental Energy and Kuwait's clean energy investment company Enertech. The project in Oman's central al-Wusta governorate will use 25GW of solar and wind power to produce 1.8mn t/yr of green hydrogen and up to 10mn t/yr of green ammonia. It is expected to start production around 2026.

Meanwhile, Muscat's General Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones said it is negotiating with several international companies that have expressed an interest in establishing hydrogen projects at Salalah and Sohar.

By Adal Mirza