With billions of dollars in green energy investments anticipated to flow into the country in the coming years, the Omani government is formulating a strategy to spark the growth of a thriving local manufacturing to meet the hardware requirements of this future energy industry. The potential for local content development and job creation around the emerging green energy sector is envisioned as promising and immense, experts say.
As a first step in this direction, the Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-Up Unit hosted an inaugural workshop last week to outline the framework of a plan to unlock local manufacturing opportunities around a much-anticipated green energy industry in the Sultanate of Oman.
In attendance at the workshop were high-level officials of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP), led by Dr Saleh bin Said Masan, Under-Secretary for Commerce and Industry, and the Authority for Public Services Regulation (APSR), represented by Shaikh Dr Mansoor bin Talib al Hinai, Chairman.
The workshop effectively kickstarts the work of a new ‘Energy Sector Related Manufacturing Lab’ – the latest in a series of Labs held under the auspices of the Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-Up Unit over the past several years. These Labs, focusing on key thrust areas of the national economy, notably Tourism, Fisheries, Mining, Logistics, Renewables, Manufacturing, Food Security and Information Technology, have helped sustain a certain degree of economic activity in the country during the recent global downturn and pandemic.
In a post, MoCIIP said the Lab will seek to ensure the objectives of the Manufacturing Sector Lab are in alignment with the evolving requirements of the energy sector, which is currently transitioning away from fossil fuels – responsible for planet-warming greenhouse gases (GHGs) – to low or zero-carbon fuels, notable solar and wind based renewables and even green hydrogen.
With the Sultanate of Oman tipped to host a sizable portfolio of gigawatt-scale green hydrogen projects over the coming years and decades, the potential for local value creation and optimisation is huge, according to experts. Unlike the country’s pivotal Oil & Gas industry, which has promoted significant In-Country Value (ICV) development over the past decades, the current contribution of the nascent renewables and green energy sector is negligible. This is evident from the most recent examples of large-scale solar PV based projects implemented in the country, where almost all of the hardware and equipment were sourced from abroad.
With state-owned OQ Group – part of Oman Investment Authority (OIA) – set to play a dominant role in the implementation of large-scale hydrogen projects, the emphasis on localisation and In Country Value is expected to be robust, experts stress.
The economics of investing in local manufacturing capacity have significantly improved given the enormous potential for renewables and green energy based projects to be implemented in the Sultanate of Oman, it is pointed out. Besides meeting the requirements of the emerging domestic industry, this new manufacturing sector can also cater to the needs of developers in the wider region and even internationally, they stress.
Opportunities for manufacturing span solar panels, power inverters, battery storage systems, ground and roof mounts, wind towers and generators, wind blades, electrolysers and cabling, among other types of equipment and accessories.
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