Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Oman plans green-hydrogen corridor to Europe

By Andy Sambidge
Oman has signed an agreement with Port of Amsterdam, Zenith Energy Terminals and GasLog to develop a green-hydrogen corridor between Oman and the Netherlands Hydrom
The partnership aims to develop a green-hydrogen corridor between Oman and the Netherlands
  • Amsterdam is Europe’s ‘gateway’
  • Port, vessels and storage deal
  • $33bn investment predicted

Oman’s plans to make the world’s first commercial-scale liquid hydrogen corridor are a step closer after the sultanate signed a deal with the fourth largest port in Western Europe.

Oman’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals and Hydrogen Oman, better known as Hydrom, have signed an agreement with Port of Amsterdam, Zenith Energy Terminals and GasLog.

The primary aim is to establish a green hydrogen corridor between Oman and the Netherlands. Zenith Energy Terminals will provide the destination for the import, regasification and further distribution to large industries across Europe. 

Zenith Energy Terminals owns more than three million cubic metres of renewable fuels, crude oil, chemicals and gas storage across North America, Europe and Latin America, while GasLog operates a fleet of 38 LNG carriers.

Plans for a hydrogen liquefaction, storage and export facility in Oman are also being assessed, along with the provision of specialised vessels for transportation. 

Liquefying gaseous hydrogen, shipping it and regasifying it at the destination port is a mode of energy transportation successfully used by the LNG industry for decades. 

Guided by Oman’s Vision 2040 and its goal to reach net zero by 2050, the Omani government’s hydrogen strategy seeks to capitalise on the country’s abundant natural resources and port and industrial infrastructure. 

Dorine Bosman, chief investment officer at Port of Amsterdam, said he aimed to establish the port as the gateway for Omani-produced green hydrogen to the European market.

Abdulaziz Al Shidhani, managing director of Hydrom, said the new partnership will “help bring us one step closer to our shared goal”.

Oman is on track to become the sixth-largest exporter of hydrogen globally and the largest in the Middle East by 2030, according to analysis by the Paris-based International Energy Agency.

Oil and gas represent around 60 percent of the country’s export income and domestic natural gas accounts for over 95 percent of the country’s electricity generation. 

The hydrogen rainbow

  • Green hydrogen is produced on a carbon-neutral basis through water electrolysis. 
  • Turquoise hydrogen is created when natural gas is broken down into hydrogen and solid carbon with the help of methane pyrolysis.
  • Blue hydrogen is generated from the steam reduction of natural gas. 
  • Grey hydrogen is obtained by steam reforming fossil fuels such as natural gas or coal. 
  • Sometimes other colours are ascribed to hydrogen, based on how it is produced. For red, pink and violet hydrogen, the electrolysers are driven by nuclear power. 
  • Yellow hydrogen is hydrogen produced from a mixture of renewable energies and fossil fuels. 
  • White hydrogen is a waste product of other chemical processes, while the use of coal as a fuel produces brown hydrogen.

Latest articles

PIF's Starbucks shareholdings were cut almost by half from 6.3 million shares to 3.8 million

PIF slashes Starbucks stake as it cuts US stocks by $15bn

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has slashed its US equity holdings by 42 percent to $20.6 billion, including its stake in Starbucks, the global coffee chain that has suffered calls for a boycott as a result of the Gaza conflict. The latest US government data highlights funding challenges facing the Saudi giga-projects.  The filing […]

Tunisia olives

Soaring olive oil exports help Tunisia balance books

Tunisia’s soaring olive oil exports have almost doubled to close to $1 billion in just five months, helping it claw back its current account deficit.   However the increased revenues merely “paint over the cracks” and the country is still probably heading towards a sovereign default, according to an economic expert. Tunisia’s current account deficit narrowed […]

Iraqi prime minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani attends licensing rounds for 29 oil and gas exploration blocks at the oil ministry's headquarters in Baghdad

Falling oil prices deepen Iraq’s fiscal imbalances, says IMF

Iraq’s fiscal imbalances have worsened due to significant fiscal expansion and lower oil prices, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “The ongoing fiscal expansion is expected to boost growth in 2024 at the expense of a further deterioration of fiscal and external accounts and Iraq’s vulnerability to oil price fluctuations,” the Washington-based fund said in […]

Saudi aluminium producer Talco is offering 12 million shares

Aluminium producer Talco announces Saudi IPO

Aluminium producer Al Taiseer Group Talco Industrial Company (Talco) is the latest entity to reveal initial public offering (IPO) plans in Saudi Arabia. The Riyadh-based company, which was set up in 2009, is offering 12 million shares, a 30 percent stake, on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) at a nominal value of SAR10 ($2.67) per share. […]