MUSCAT: Strengthening its engagement with strategic international investors, a joint delegation representing the Integrated Gas Company (IGC) — the sole aggregator and supplier of natural gas in Oman — and Invest Oman, the state’s apex investment promotion agency, met with officials of Meranti Green Steel in Thailand to advance the company’s plans to invest in a major green iron project in the Sultanate.

The proposed venture, featuring a 2.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) plant in its first phase, is to be established at the Special Economic Zone at Duqm (SEZAD). Initially, the project will be powered by a calibrated mix of natural gas and green hydrogen, with the hydrogen share set to increase progressively to enable lower-carbon green steel production.

Aligned with Meranti’s strategy to decouple iron production from steelmaking, part of the low-carbon HBI output from Duqm will be exported to a proposed green steel mill under early development in Rayong, Thailand. The remainder of Duqm’s HBI output will be supplied to European offtakers.

In a statement, IGC, which is affiliated with Oman’s Ministry of Finance, said discussions with Meranti focused on gas allocation, operational developments, and the strategic roadmap for the upcoming phases of the project.

“The meeting addressed the technical and regulatory aspects related to gas allocation and operational readiness. The Integrated Gas Company presented its established mechanisms to ensure supply efficiency, operational reliability, and sustainability in support of the project’s successful implementation,” IGC said.

The state-owned gas aggregator added: “This engagement reflects IGC’s ongoing efforts to enhance the reliability of Oman’s industrial gas infrastructure and to support high-impact industrial projects that ensure the optimal utilisation of national resources, in alignment with the objectives of Oman Vision 2040.”

On Wednesday, IGC announced that it intends to sign a number of Gas Purchase and Allocation Agreements with leading industrial companies on November 2, as part of National Day celebrations. Beneficiaries will include projects across the petrochemical, fertilizer, pharmaceutical, iron and steel, food and agriculture, power generation, cement, and mineral sectors, with total investments exceeding RO2 billion ($5.2 billion).

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