Oman's plan to build a national hydrogen economy with a renewable energy capacity of 30 GW is expected to involve investments in green projects worth about US$ 34 billion by year 2040, newspaper Oman Daily Observer said, citing a high-level official.

The sultanate seeks to become one of the top 3 producers of green hydrogen in the region and the investments in the clean fuel could create between 34,000 and 147,000 jobs, said Abdullah al Abri, Head of Energy Renewal, the renewable energy unit of Petroleum Development Oman.

Speaking at the Green Hydrogen Summit Oman, Al Abri said that the solid interest in hydrogen has resulted in a project funnel that is "now filling up and maturing nicely".

As part of its hydrogen strategy, Oman aims to increase its green energy capacity to 1 GW by year 2025 and reach 10 GW by the end of the decade.

State-owned oil and gas company OQ plays a central role in the ambitious plan. Over the last few months, the company has teamed up with Korea Gas Technology Corp (KOGAS-Tech) to study opportunities for green hydrogen cooperation in the Arab country and agreed with a group of international partners to explore the joint development of a project for the production of green hydrogen and up to 1,000 tonnes of green ammonia per day in the Salalah Free Zone in the south of Oman. The latter partnership includes the construction of a 400-MW electrolyser for the production of green hydrogen, powered by solar and wind plants of 1 GW.