After a successful round 1 of competitive auction to award land blocks for green hydrogen in Oman, Hydrom is now ready with round II having launched it on June 21, 2023 to award 3 land blocks in the Governorate of Dhofar.

According to local media reports, Hydrom is inviting companies interested in bidding for these land blocks for green hydrogen projects can register on its website. They need to submit investment proposals thereafter from which winners will be decided.

Under auction phase A, Hydrom is awarding land blocks in 2 bid rounds, one each for Duqm and Dhofar governorates. While 5 winners have already been announced for Duqm area and commercial agreements are being finalized with more, round 2 has been announced for up to 3 additional blocks to be awarded by Q1/2024-end (see More Green Hydrogen Agreements In Oman).

Developers are free to choose any electrolyzer technology and also the end product, but are expected to propose a wind and solar mix to ensure a competitive levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH), and the technology mix can evolve over time.

They also need to secure the offtake for their projects. Only consortiums will be allowed to participate and on winning, they need to partner with a government owned entity, as per terms of the tender.

The request for qualification phase is now open, and will be followed by a request for proposal (RFP) in September 2023. Final bid submission deadline will be January 2024 and winners announced by end of Q1 next year. Details are available on Hydrom’s website.