Omans GEO hub worlds 6th largest hydrogen project: Irena

Green Energy Oman (GEO) is proposed to be developed in Al Wusta Governorate by an international consortium comprising OQ, Intercontinental Energy (ICE) billed as the world’s largest hydrogen developer, and Enertech of Kuwait, an Oman Observer report said.

 

At full capacity, it will be powered by 25 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind generation capacity, enabling the production of 1.8 million tonnes per annum of green hydrogen and 10 million tonnes of green ammonia.

 

Given its immense scale, the GEO has been ranked 6th in size in a listing of the world’s largest green hydrogen schemes compiled by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), the Abu Dhabi based intergovernmental organisation that supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future.

With the exception of Saudi Arabia, which earns the 20th rank for its Helios Green Fuels Project, Oman is the only Middle Eastern country in Irena’s Top 20 index of gigascale green hydrogen schemes.

Countries in Western Europe, South America Western and Southern Africa, besides Kazakhstan, China and Australia feature in the top 20 list. The biggest by far is HyDeal Ambition — an uber-scale 67 GW scheme promoted by a consortium of 30 leading developers for establishment in Spain.

 

Australia is set to host a sizeable array of giga-scale ventures, including the Western Green Energy Hub (28 GW) and Asian Renewable Energy Hub (14 GW). Irena’s report, ‘Geopolitics of the Energy Transformation: The Hydrogen Factor’, spotlights some of the key countries that are at the forefront of the global green hydrogen revolution. The Omani government’s vision, the Agency says, is to support the growth of a ‘hydrogen-centric society’ within the next two decades.

 

“Oman is preparing a national hydrogen strategy with the aim of establishing a hydrogencentric society by 2040,” Irena noted in its report. “It also plans to become a large-scale exporter of green hydrogen or green ammonia. Several gigawatt-scale projects have already been announced, all capitalising on the abundant solar and wind resources in the Al Wusta Governorate and eyeing the Arabian Sea port of Duqm for exports. The biggest of these projects will be powered by 25 GW of solar and wind.”

 

The report welcomes the pathway charted by Oman, among other countries notably Australia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to pivot away from fossil fuels towards clean hydrogen in a bid to diversify their economies.

To this end, countries like Oman can “leverage established energy infrastructure, a skilled workforce and existing energy trade relations” in their transition efforts, it noted. A Final Investment Decision (FID) to progress the multibillion-dollar Green Energy Oman project is slated in early 2026. Implementation is envisioned over a 10-year period with expansions dictated by international demand for green energy.