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Hydrom and VNG talk green hydrogen exports: State-owned Hydrogen Oman (Hydrom) signed an agreement with German gas importer VNG AG to explore the feasibility of establishing a green hydrogen and ammonia value chain between the two countries, according to a statement. The agreement includes possible long-term offtake agreements for green hydrogen and ammonia.
This came as no surprise: Germany will not have the production capacity to meet its hydrogen demands through domestic production alone leading to the need to build strong partnerships with overseas suppliers, VNG CEO Ulf Heitmüller said in a separate statement. Germany will need to import around 50% to 70% of its hydrogen to meet demand — which is estimated to be between 95 to 130 TWh in 2030.
Oman increases planned investments in hydrogen: Oman is set to invest between USD 40 to 60 bn by 2030 in green hydrogen production and its needed common-use infrastructure — up from the USD 20-30 bn announced last year, Oman Observer reported on Saturday citing comments made by Energy and Minerals minister Salim Al Aufi at the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue. The investments will include the construction of new hydrogen pipelines, transmission networks, water desalination and pipeline networks, and specialized storage capacity. The investments will also aim to meet stringent international standards on renewable hydrogen imports, particularly from the EU, in efforts to support the development of 6 GW-scale green hydrogen projects in Al Wusta and Dhofar Governorates, the news outlet added.
Hydrom has more plans in the works: Hydrom, OQ Gas Networks, Nama Water Services, and the Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC) are establishing a hydrogen infrastructure company which will work on projects across the Al Wusta and Dhofar governorates. Hydrom is targeting commissioning the project before the “first production of hydrogen” locally by 2029. Hydrom also signed an MoU with Asyad Group to support the green hydrogen projects and signed another agreement with Siemens Energy and the Oman Investment Authority (OIA) to explore the feasibility of establishing an electrolyzer manufacturing facility in the Sultanate.
Not VNG’s first regional venture: VNG signed an agreement with Algeria’s state-owned oil producer Sonatrach to conduct feasibility studies for the construction of a 50 MW green hydrogen plant in 2022.
IN OTHER GREEN HYDROGEN NEWS- Oman is also exploring cooperation with the Dutch: A delegation from Dutch energy network operator Gasunie recently concluded a visit to Oman with the aim of exploring collaboration opportunities in green hydrogen, Oman Observer reported on Thursday. The delegation met with officials from Oman’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Hydrom, OQ Gas Networks, and the Port of Duqm to discuss potential collaborations in infrastructure development and green energy production. The visit falls under an MoU signed in 2022 to cooperate on green energy, specifically green hydrogen.
