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Hyport Duqm, Uniper sign deal to explore green ammonia offtake

24 Jul 2021

Oman’s strategic green hydrogen project Hyport Duqm has signed a cooperation agreement with the global energy giant Uniper. As per the agreement, Uniper will be joining the project team to provide engineering services and negotiate an exclusive offtake agreement of green ammonia.

With Uniper, Hyport Duqm’s shareholders DEME Concessions and OQ Alternative Energy have onboarded a globally recognised and reputable partner, which will support Hyport Duqm in demonstrating a strong business case for the offtake, and in turn, enable them to secure optimal financing for the project.

The agreement marks another important milestone for Hyport Duqm, after having secured its 150sqkm renewable generation site in the Special Economic Zone at Duqm (SEZAD) earlier this year. The site is being prepared for the deployment of a series of meteorological masts to confirm Duqm’s excellent solar and wind conditions which are available throughout the year and that form the basis of successful green hydrogen and green ammonia projects.

In the first phase the Hyport Duqm project will develop a 250MW to 500MW green hydrogen facility at SEZAD. The facility is planned to come into operation in 2026 and will respond to the global demand for green hydrogen and its derivatives.

The first phase will establish a complete power-to-product value chain at utility scale, combining first-of-a-kind technology integration with economies of scale, producing competitive green hydrogen and green ammonia. Future expansions are foreseen in subsequent phases, whereby a further scaling up of the value chain will transform SEZAD into a green hydrogen hub in Oman and the wider region.

In a press statement, Dr Salim al Huthaili, CEO of OQ Alternative Energy, said that the cooperation agreement with Uniper marks a major milestone in the development of the Hyport Duqm project. “This brings us a step closer to delivering a world-scale green hydrogen facility in SEZAD and showcases the true potential of Oman’s renewable capabilities as well as the critical role that the country can play as a net energy exporter.”

“This agreement will pave the way to further cooperation between OQ Alternative Energy, DEME Concessions and Uniper moving us to the engineering phase of the project. Uniper’s expertise coupled with that of DEME Concessions and OQ Alternative Energy will ensure that Hyport Duqm is provided with the necessary talent and tools to take us through the engineering phase,” Huthaili said.

Hyport Duqm showcases the development of a complete green hydrogen value chain, from the installation of up to 1.3GWp of renewable power generation capacity from solar and wind (phase 1), via the electrolysis-based hydrogen production to the synthesis of green ammonia.

Luc Vandenbulcke, CEO of DEME Group, said, “With Hyport Duqm, DEME is proud of taking the initiative in the global energy transition whereby green hydrogen has been identified as one of the major energy vectors. This project will not only contribute to the challenging European ambitions to reduce CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions, but will also strengthen Oman and the sultanate’s visionary future.”

John Roper, Uniper’s CEO Middle East, said, “The partnership with OQ and DEME in the Hyport Duqm project supports Uniper’s global hydrogen strategy. With Uniper as the offtake partner for green ammonia, the partnership will benefit from the additional value added through Uniper’s global commodity trading network.”

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