Overview
Oman has positioned itself as a leading contender in the global green hydrogen economy, leveraging its geographic advantages — high solar irradiance, strong wind corridors along the Arabian Sea coast, and vast tracts of undeveloped land — to build one of the world’s largest green hydrogen production ecosystems.
The National Hydrogen Strategy, formally adopted in 2022 and updated in 2024, targets production capacity of at least 1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) by 2030 and up to 8.5 MTPA by 2050. The strategy is anchored in the Special Economic Zone at Duqm (SEZAD), which hosts the majority of committed green hydrogen projects.
Investment Pipeline
The green hydrogen investment pipeline in Oman exceeds $30 billion in committed and announced projects, making it one of the largest hydrogen pipelines in the GCC region.
Key Projects
HYPORT Duqm — A joint venture between OQ Group and DEME Concessions (Belgium), targeting 500 MW of electrolyser capacity in Phase 1. The project will produce green ammonia for export, primarily to European and East Asian markets. Final investment decision was reached in 2024.
ACME Green Hydrogen — Indian conglomerate ACME Group’s $3.5 billion project in Duqm, with planned capacity of 3,500 MW of renewable energy powering electrolysers for green ammonia production.
BP/OQ Renewable Energy — A strategic partnership between BP and OQ Group to develop large-scale renewable energy and green hydrogen facilities, with committed investment exceeding $5 billion through 2030.
Oman Green Energy Hub — A consortium-led mega-project in Al Wusta Governorate, with planned capacity of 25 GW of renewable energy and 1.8 MTPA of green hydrogen by 2038.
Strategic Positioning
Oman’s green hydrogen strategy differs from those of its GCC peers in several important respects:
Export orientation — Unlike Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project, which serves both domestic industrial and export purposes, Oman’s strategy is overwhelmingly export-focused, targeting European and Asian off-takers.
Ammonia conversion — The vast majority of Oman’s green hydrogen will be converted to green ammonia for transport, reflecting the practical logistics challenges of hydrogen shipping.
Land availability — Oman has allocated over 50,000 square kilometres of land for renewable energy development, a scale matched only by Saudi Arabia in the region.
Duqm concentration — The geographic concentration of projects in and around the Duqm SEZ creates infrastructure synergies but also concentration risk.
Challenges
Despite the scale of ambition, several challenges remain:
- Water scarcity — Electrolysis requires significant freshwater. Desalination capacity must scale alongside hydrogen production.
- Infrastructure gaps — Port capacity, pipeline networks, and grid connectivity require substantial public investment.
- Off-take certainty — While multiple memoranda of understanding have been signed, binding long-term off-take agreements remain limited.
- Execution risk — The gap between announced and operational projects remains wide across the global hydrogen sector.
2040 Outlook
If current project timelines hold, Oman could become the GCC’s second-largest green hydrogen producer after Saudi Arabia by 2035. The hydrogen economy is projected to contribute 3-5% of GDP by 2040, creating an estimated 35,000 direct and indirect jobs. This positions hydrogen as a critical pillar of Oman’s post-oil economic architecture.