Oman’s state-owned hydrogen company Hydrom has awarded two green hydrogen blocks that are expected to rake in investments exceeding USD 10 bn, the Times of Oman reported last week. A USD 6.7 bn contract was awarded to a consortium led by South Korea’s steelmaking company Posco Group, and another was secured by the Hyport Coordination Company, which is a joint venture between DEME Concessions and OQ Alternative Energy. Both green hydrogen production facilities — to be powered by 6.5 GW of renewable energy — are expected to generate 250k tons annually once operational.

The Posco consortium: The consortium consists of Mescat Middle East DMCC, Samsung Engineering , Futuretech Energy Ventures, Korea East-West Power, and Korea Southern Power. Posco will hold a 28% stake in the group, while French energy firm Engie will hold a 25% stake, according to The Korea Economic Daily. The remaining ownership will be divided among Korea East-West Power and Korea Southern Power with a 24% stake each, a 12% stake for Samsung Engineering, and the remaining 11% for Thai’s PTT Exploration and Production company.

The project: The consortium will build the green hydrogen plant in the Port of Duqm and will power it with some 5 GW from wind and solar energy farms, the news outlet noted. The group aims to produce some 200k tons of green hydrogen by 2030. The hydrogen will be converted into ammonia as part of the consortium’s export targets. The exact annual production capacity of the plant, and whether all the ammonia would be exported, was not disclosed.

Who’s doing what: Posco Holdings, the group’s investment arm, is set to lead the project and manage the plant-building processes in the country. Samsung’s construction unit will be tasked with the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of the facilities, while the other companies will either produce or sell the green hydrogen generated by the plant.

Hyport Coordination Company’s project: Hyport’s plant will be located in Duqm, Oman, and will be powered by 1.3 GW of renewable energy, the company notes. Hyport will build a solar energy farm and a wind power plant to power its green hydrogen production facility, which will produce some 50k tons by 2029 in its first phase. The green hydrogen the company will produce will also be converted into ammonia then shipped to export markets, according to Hyport. A timeline on the project’s expected launch date was not provided.

What’s next: Hydrom kicked off bidding for its second round last week with the aim of awarding three green hydrogen blocks in the country’s Dhofar region before the end of 1Q 2024, the Times of Oman noted. Meanwhile, the state-owned company is looking to finalize six green hydrogen agreements worth USD 20 bn before the end of the year, according to the news outlet. Hydrom had signed the binding term sheet agreements for green hydrogen projects back in March with several regional and international developers.