Oman to be the largest exporter of hydrogen in the Middle East
Renewable Hydrogen from Oman | A producer economy in transition
Key Points from the Executive Summary
- The country is well placed to produce large quantities of renewable hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels. Oman benefits from high-quality renewable resources (both solar PV and onshore wind) and a convenient location, well-placed to access the main import markets like Europe and Japan. The country also has vast amounts of land for large-scale project development, and existing fossil fuel infrastructure that can be directly used or repurposed for low-emission fuels. The country has extensive expertise in handling and exporting both LNG and ammonia that are directly applicable to renewable hydrogen and hydrogen- based fuels.
- Oman has the potential to become one of the most competitive producers of renewable hydrogen. Under the current global pipeline of hydrogen projects, the total installed capacity of electrolysers is expected to increase by a factor of almost 300 by 2030, leading to capital cost reductions of 70%. With this trend, the cost of producing renewable hydrogen in Oman could be as low as USD 1.6/kg H2 by the end of the decade, positioning Oman as one of the most competitive producers of renewable hydrogen globally.
- Oman is on track to become the sixth largest exporter of hydrogen globally by 2030. IEA believes Oman could become the largest exporter of hydrogen in the Middle East this decade.
- Scale-up of renewable hydrogen production requires significant investments. Cumulative investment needs by 2030 would be around USD 37 billion.
- Oman is a producer economy with net zero ambitions. In 2022, Oman announced a target to become net zero by 2050. It also aims to significantly ramp up domestic production of hydrogen from renewable electricity.