Green Energy Oman to unlock huge ICV, job prospects

An international consortium comprising OQ — the integrated energy group of the Sultanate of Oman, Intercontinental Energy (ICE) based in Hong Kong, and Enertech of Kuwait is behind the proposed development of world-scale Green Energy Oman (GEO) in Al Wusta Governorate.

At full capacity, the mammoth scheme will be powered by 25 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind generation capacity, to enable the production of 1.8 million tonnes p.a. of green hydrogen and 10 million tonnes of green ammonia.

According to a key project official, the project’s phased development — envisioned over a period of 10 years —has the potential to spawn significant In-Country Value (ICV) opportunities, as well as employment generation.

“The GEO project has a significant ICV component due to the protracted phasing of construction, which allows for the development of both local know-how and supply chains’’, said Ahmed al Rawas, Project Manager at OQ’s Alternative Energy unit.

“Additionally, it will expose many Omani businesses to new industries, bringing experience in wind and solar and adding to the current experience to the Oman business environment in the midstream and downstream sections.”

Presenting during an industry event held in Muscat recently, Al Rawas noted that GEO’s immense scale and long operational life, spanning in excess of 50 years, would unlock a wide array of localisation opportunities far above current norms.

These span the upstream, midstream and downstream segments of the green hydrogen value chain, he said.

With vast fields of solar and wind farms necessary to generate the required clean energy for the electrolysis process, the potential for local manufacturing of equipment and parts is significant, said Al Rawas.

“Some of the new facilities that will be built here will open up employment opportunities for the local communities in the upstream (wind turbines and solar system), midstream (electrolysers, piping and power distribution), and downstream (in processing of equipment and assembly).

Also, from the scale of the GEO project, there is opportunity for onshore manufacturing processes; it will encourage (international) manufacturers to move their facilities to Oman and thereby reach other customers in Oman and the region’’, he stated.

Also promising is the localisation potential around solar and wind farm installation, operation and maintenance, the manufacture and maintenance of electolysers and R&D across the value chain, he added.

A Final Investment Decision (FID), slated sometime in early 2026, will pave the way for construction work on Green Energy Oman to commence in 2027.