OPAZ plans green hydrogen facilities at Hyport Duqm

The Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) has signed a land lease agreement with Hyport Duqm Co for the downstream portion of the Green Hydrogen and Ammonia Production Facility, which is backed by a joint venture between OQ’s Alternative Energy Unit and the DEME Group of Belgium.

It comes after a similar land leasing agreement for the project’s upstream component was signed in September, allowing basic engineering studies and site data collecting for the mammoth green energy project’s implementation at Duqm SEZ to begin.

Hyport Duqm will build a green hydrogen production facility with a capacity of 500 MW on a 793,000 sq meter property near the Port of Duqm, according to the land leasing agreement. A number of solar and wind farms will be erected at the project’s upstream end, covering an area of 200 square kilometers, to supply green power for the endeavor.

A solar and wind-based renewable energy generation component; a green hydrogen production facility consisting of electrolyzers, an ammonia synthesis plant, and storage facilities; and a high-voltage transmission line connecting the upstream and downstream components will make up Hyport Duqm.

Hyport Duqm built and operated four wind speed gauges and two on-site solar meteorological stations early last year to guarantee that the data needed for the project’s full feasibility assessment was obtained.

The agreement, according to Yahya bin Khamis al Zadjali, Operational Head of Duqm SEZ, is a significant step forward in the project’s development, as it will clear the way for different studies, including soil and topographic studies, to be completed in preparation for the thorough feasibility study.

He told Oman News Agency that the Authority is looking forward to working with the project team and assisting with the execution of the first green energy projects in the Duqm SEZ. Green hydrogen will make it easier to invest in a variety of green heavy industries, such as green iron and steel and green aluminum.

According to DEME Group executives, the initiative would help Oman achieve its objective of becoming a global center for green hydrogen generation. Green ammonia will be shipped from Duqm to customers in a number of European countries as well as other worldwide markets where low-carbon energy supplies are in high demand.