OQ eyes role as Oman’s energy transition ‘champion’

Leadership position: State-owned integrated energy group backs total of four green hydrogen projects to date, powered by around 30 GW of renewable energy capacity

OQ, the global integrated energy group of the Sultanate of Oman, says it wants to emerge as a “champion” of the nation’s ambitious decarbonisation and energy transition strategy.

A key executive of the energy group – part of integrated sovereign wealth fund Oman Investment Authority (OIA) –cited OQ’s preeminent role in shaping the country’s low-carbon energy future.

“We have been taking bold steps in the green hydrogen space, having already announced about four projects that should bring in about 30 gigawatts (GW) of renewables to support green hydrogen”, said Najla al Jamali (pictured), Chief Executive – OQ Alternative Energy. “We hope this will (position) us, as a state-owned enterprise, as a champion for energy transition and green hydrogen going forward.”

The official made the comments during an Executive Plenary Session organised as part of the SPE Conference – Oman Petroleum & Energy Show held in Muscat last week. Discussions focused on the theme, ‘How the Petroleum Industry is Preparing Itself for the Era of Decarbonisation and Energy Transition’.

According to Najla, OQ Alternative Energy’s decarbonisation strategy encompasses three pillars: Energy Excellence, Clean Energy and Low Carbon Molecules. “We want to look at decarbonisation as a journey, starting with Energy Efficiency as the low hanging fruit; then you move into electrification using renewables to power your upstream and downstream operations as much as you can, and then move on to low carbon molecules whether Blue (with carbon capture, utilisation and storage – CCUS) or green hydrogen.”

Opportunities for monetisation of negative emission credits will be explored as well, she further noted.

Significantly, the first two pillars alone – Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy – have the potential to reduce OQ’s carbon footprint by more than 60 per cent, said the Chief Executive, noting that the group currently contributes around 13 per cent of the Sultanate of Oman’s carbon emissions.

Notably, all four green hydrogen projects announced by OQ to date are proposed for implementation in the renewables-rich Al Wusta and Dhofar governorates of the country.

“Both regions have excellent wind, which in combination with solar, brings down the net levelised cost of energy and consequently the levelised cost of hydrogen, which becomes very competitive coming out of Oman. This is why there’s huge interest from alternative energy players to come into Oman, specifically into these two regions”, Al Jamali stated.

OQ plans to leverage its expertise in, among other areas, downstream ammonia production to manufacture green ammonia as a safe and cost-competitive carrier of hydrogen for export markets. Boding well for the group in this regard is its stake in an existing ammonia project in Sur, and the anticipated launch of a new ammonia plant in Salalah this year, she pointed out.

OQ-backed green hydrogen projects include a mammoth 25-GW solar and wind powered venture in partnership with Intercontinental Energy (Singapore) and Enertech (Kuwait), and two other gigawatt-scale schemes separately backed by DEME Group of Belgium and Marubeni Corporation of Japan.