MUSCAT: The Sultanate of Oman received on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, at Sultan Qaboos Port, the first liquefied hydrogen tanker in the world, the Japanese ship 'Suiso Frontier', which is currently touring a number of countries in the Middle East.
Eng Salem bin Nasser al Aufi, Minister of Energy and Minerals, and a number of officials in the hydrogen, transport and logistics sectors were briefed on the ship's public facilities represented in the hydrogen transport control room using augmented reality technology, which reviewed a vision about the transportation of liquefied hydrogen on a commercial scale and the economic feasibility of transportation projects.
Al Aufi said: “The visit serves to spread awareness about the possibility of transporting hydrogen and the challenges that the ship faced during the transportation and construction process, in addition to the company’s future plans to build large hydrogen tankers to keep pace with the growing global demand for hydrogen during the next stage, looking forward to more cooperation between the Sultanate of Oman and Japan in the process of hydrogen production and liquefaction.”
In a statement to Oman News Agency (ONA), the Minister said the Sultanate of Oman has made great and rapid strides in the field of hydrogen and seeks to be among the first countries to export green hydrogen, especially to various countries of the world, and to use it in local industries as an alternative to the gas currently used.
Commenting on the visit, Jota Yamamoto, Ambassador of Japan to the Sultanate of Oman, said the hydrogen vessel’s visit will contribute to the strengthening of growing bilateral relations between the two friendly countries in all fields, especially in the energy and hydrogen sectors. It also affirms the strategic direction adopted by the Sultanate of Oman to exploit this promising sector, he noted, while stressing the importance of having hydrogen carriers in linking producers with the global market.
Japan is a strategic partner of the Sultanate of Oman in the field of energy and is linked to a memorandum of cooperation signed in early January 2023 in the fields of hydrogen, ammonia fuel, carbon recycling and modern methods of methane production.
Oman has strengthened its position in green hydrogen projects by signing a number of projects to produce 750,000 tonnes per year of green hydrogen, with an investment value estimated at $30 billion, in the first bidding phase, with the offering of 3 auction blocks in Dhofar Governorate, according to the second and expected bidding phase. The blocks will be awarded towards the end of Q1 202, contributing to Oman’s ambitions to produce more than one million tonnes of green hydrogen or its derivatives by 2030, rising to 8 million tonnes in 2050. — ONA
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