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Hydrom, which is tasked with the development of green hydrogen industry in Oman, has released the RFQ (Request for Qualification) for the third green hydrogen auction round.
The RFP (Request for Proposal) is expected to be sent out to qualified applicants by mid-June 2025, with bid submission scheduled for end January 2026 and award by the second quarter of 2026.
Hydrom has made available 300 square kilometres (sq km) of land about 100 kilometres away from the Special Economic Zone of Duqm (SEZAD) for the third round of green hydrogen auctions.
Developers can select their preferred site and land size within a defined 300 sq km block starting from a minimum of 100 sq km, a different approach from the fixed land allocation model followed in previous auctions. The minimum green hydrogen production expected for a 100 sq km land parcel is 50,000 tonnes per annum.
Hydrom clarified that phased execution is not permitted within the awarded block and applicants can request additional lands for future expansions.
“The land lease will be available for 47 years from the project development and land sub-usufruct award, i.e 7 years for construction and 40 years for operation”, said Rumaitha Al Busaidi, Business and ICV (In country value) Development manager.
Hydrom will charge land fees for the used part once production begins apart from base royalties and upside fees. Corporate taxes will also apply, she clarified. It also reserves the ‘back in right’ to acquire a share in the project company.
In a departure from previous auction rounds, Hydrom will explore the option to supply excess green electricity to the grid subject to regulatory approvals.
The entity expects developers to set up projects for producing green hydrogen or derivatives for supply to local industries or exports.
Hydrom will provide shared infrastructure to project companies which is currently in the pre-FEED stage. Final Investment Decision (FID) for the common use infrastructure is expected by 2027 and commissioning by 2030.
The projects are expected to benefit from the development of a dedicated 2,000-kilometre hydrogen pipeline as well as the establishment of the world’s first liquid hydrogen export corridor linking Oman to the Netherlands and Germany and
onwards to Europe.
Oman’s has awarded eight large-scale green hydrogen projects in Duqm and Dhofar through two previous rounds, securing over $49 billion in investment commitments targeting a combined production capacity of over 1 million tonnes per annum of green hydrogen by 2030. These projects will be powered by more than 30 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy.
(Reporting by Sowmya Sundar; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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