OMAN ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR COMMON INFRASTRUCTURE FOR GREEN HYDROGEN LIQUEFACTION AND EXPORT

DUBAI, UAE, Dec. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sultanate of Oman's Ministry of Energy and Minerals and Hydrogen Oman (Hydrom) have signed a Joint Study Agreement (JSA) with Port of Amsterdam, Zenith Energy Terminals and GasLog, to collaborate on the development of a liquid hydrogen route to market for green hydrogen produced in the Sultanate of Oman.

Sultanate of Oman signs JSA for the development of a green hydrogen corridor between Oman and the Netherlands

The Agreement underscores the clear ambitions of the partners to make the world's first commercial scale liquid hydrogen corridor a reality. The Agreement was signed at the Omani Pavilion during COP28 in Dubai, with His Excellency the Minister Eng. Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi and the Climate Envoy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme, as official witnesses of the ceremony.

The Agreement entails conducting a detailed assessment of the requirements to develop an open-access hydrogen liquefaction, storage and export facility in the Sultanate of Oman, along with the provision of specialised vessels for the transportation of the liquid hydrogen, currently under development by GasLog. The primary aim of the Agreement is to establish a green hydrogen corridor between the Sultanate of Oman and the Netherlands, with the terminal of Zenith Energy as the destination for the import, regasification and further distribution of Oman-produced hydrogen to both local offtakers within the port of Amsterdam, as well as large industries in the European hinterland. The open-access liquefaction facility will also enable the government of the Sultanate of Oman to explore cost effective hydrogen export corridors to other global markets.

Guided by Oman's Vision 2040, which is anchored on diversifying its economy away from oil and gas, as well as the country's long-term goal to reach Net-Zero by 2050, the government of the Sultanate of Oman has pursued a hydrogen strategy that seeks to capitalise on the country's abundant (wind and sun) natural resources and existing port and industrial infrastructures. Moreover, its geographical location puts Oman in a prime position to supply the European and the Asian markets. Hydrom is orchestrating the overall development of the Omani hydrogen sector and is responsible for master-planning, managing the allocation of government lands to hydrogen developers and overseeing the execution of projects. The open-access facility for liquefaction would unlock great potential for these projects, offering liquid hydrogen as a viable vector that can be utilised by individual projects for export.