Oman had received plenty of interest from international energy companies for two green-hydrogen concessions that will be awarded early next year and which may require around $10 billion of investment. The government plans to choose winning bidders by the end of March for the blocks near the port of Duqm. Investors will develop the areas with solar panels and wind turbines to power massive electrolyzers and create green hydrogen, a fuel seen as crucial for the global transition to cleaner energy. More than 40 companies, including TotalEnergies SE and BP Plc, have purchased request-for-qualification documents for the Omani blocks, an early step before formally bidding. Each project may require $4 billion to $5 billion of investment in the electrolyzers — which split water into hydrogen and oxygen — and renewable-energy facilities. The two facilities will probably increase Oman’s overall power generation capacity by 6-8 gigawatts from 12GW.

Hydrom has issued requests for qualifications (RFQ) to more than 40 companies who have expressed an interest in the recently announced blocks for green hydrogen projects in the Sultanate.

Registrations opened for international developers interested in bidding for a number of blocks offered up by the Omani government for the establishment of green hydrogen projects. Of the six blocks on offer in Phase A, two of them – located in Duqm – have been opened up for registration in the first round of the tendering programme. A Request for Qualifications (RfQ) for these blocks (each of around 320 sq km) will be issued to interested developers on November 2, 2022, with an award set to be finalised by April 2023. A second round, covering the remaining four blocks of Phase A, will kick off immediately thereafter, with awards expected to be announced before the end of 2023.