Oman sets out plans for H2 pipeline network

Oman has set out plans for a 2,000km nationwide hydrogen pipeline network and has raised the possibility of eventually connecting it to neighbouring countries.

The government wants to relieve some of the burden from hydrogen project developers by building common-user hydrogen pipelines, as well as infrastructure to transport the water and power needed for renewable hydrogen production, state-run Hydrom's planning manager Hafsa Al Subhi said at the Investing in Green Hydrogen 2023 conference in London today.

In the first phase, in 2030, Oman would build pipelines to service three planned green energy zones in the south of the country at Duqm, Al Jazir, and Salalah. Al Jazir will also be connected to Duqm in this phase of the plan.

Around 2040, Salalah will be connected to the other two. At the same time, the low-cost renewable energy production centres in the south would also be connected via a "hydrogen backbone" to the existing industrial centres in the north, such as Suhar. A state-sponsored report previously identified joining up supply with demand as a logistical challenge for Oman and estimated capital costs for the network at $3bn.

The final step, in 2050, would extend the network further and connect it to the capital, Muscat.

Hydrom's map showed it was considering a pipeline connection to the UAE around 2040, but Al Subhi said the timing of this was uncertain and would depend on how hydrogen markets evolve.

Not stopping at hydrogen pipelines, Hydrom also plans to build other common-user infrastructure like electricity transmission cables, and water desalination plants. It will also build water pipelines to supply the electrolysers and take away their waste water, and may also build hydrogen storage facilities, according to Al Subhi.

While the state-run entity has been charged with coordinating the allocation of land and development of infrastructure, Oman expects international project developers to take responsibility for most other aspects of the projects, such as obtaining finance, building upstream renewable power generation, production of hydrogen, production of hydrogen derivatives, and selling the output.

Oman will close registration on 7 October for its second competitive land allocation round for large-scale renewable hydrogen and derivatives projects, which has so far attracted 110 registrations, up from 60 in the first round, Al Subhi said. The company is also organising a matchmaking process for interested parties, she added.

In the first round Hydrogm awarded plots to a green steel project and a green hydrogen and ammonia project. Oman also has three "legacy projects" which were started before the inception of the land allocation contest, one with BP, one with Shell, and one led by Belgium's Deme. The five projects would collectively account for 75pc of Oman's target for 1mnt/yr hydrogen production by 2030, Al Subhi said.

By Aidan Lea