Hydrogen Oman (Hydrom) has announced that a consortium comprising Actis, a leading investor in sustainable infrastructure, and Fortescue, an integrated green energy company, has emerged as the winning bidder in the second round of a green hydrogen tender process.

Hydrom – an independent entity founded by the Omani government to orchestrate and deliver the nation’s green hydrogen strategy – said as per the deal, the consortium will develop, build, own and operate a large green hydrogen project in Oman.

The project, which has the potential to produce up to 200,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year, is in the feasibility stage and is expected to involve the construction of up to 4.5 GW of wind and solar renewable energy resources that will power electrolysers.

Under the current plan, this is expected to be sold to local industrial offtakers as well as processed into derivatives (such as green ammonia) for export via the existing port of Salalah.

The agreement provides Actis and Fortescue with exclusive rights to a high-quality site, allocated to the development of a future project, it added.

The project is being implemented on a build, own and operate (BOO) model, said senior officials at the signing ceremony held recently in Muscat.

Lauding the Actis consortium for the big win, Oman’s Minister of Energy and Minerals and Hydrom Chairman Engineer Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi said the sultanate is strategically located between two key green hydrogen demand centres in Europe and Asia.

“This, in addition to our Tier-1 infrastructure and logistics capabilities, have enabled us to leverage our first mover advantage in the global hydrogen industry,” he stated.

“The availability of renewable natural resources in Oman coupled with the country’s favourable geopolitical positioning, investor-friendly policies and progressive energy transition strategies make it one of the most suitable countries for green hydrogen production,” he added.