Scatec joins ACME’s Oman green ammonia project
By on March 08, 2022
Norway-based Scatec will enter into a 50:50 joint venture with ACME to design, develop, build, own and operate a planned large-scale, green ammonia facility in the Duqm Special Economic Zone of Oman. The project will proceed in two phases. First, the developers are targeting 100,000 tonnes of green ammonia production annually, with about 300 MW of electrolyzer capacity and powered by 500 MW of solar. At full capacity, the facility will produce 1.2 million tonnes of green ammonia per year.
No timelines have been set, but the partners aspire to be “one of the first” commercial green ammonia facilities operating in the world. The partners also note they are in advanced discussions with potential off-takers for 20-25 year contracts.
Project evolution
The project launched in March 2021, when India-based ACME announced that they would invest $2.5 billion into a green ammonia facility in Duqm, Oman. As part of an agreement with the government authority Tatweer, a parcel of land had been identified and secured for the project, which would produce 800,000 tonnes of green ammonia per year at full capacity.
In October last year the project grew in size. KBR was selected as technology partner for ammonia synthesis equipment. The investment from ACME was upped to $3.5 billion, and 3.5 GW of solar and onshore wind power was planned to power 900,000 tonnes of green ammonia production per year (at full capacity). KBR’s contract is for a 100,000 tonnes per year production plant, the same size as the project’s first phase that ACME and Scatec describe above.
But, while an operational date of 2022 was initially targeted after KBR came on board, this week’s announcement of a further increase in size & brand new partner have paused timeline decisions, at least for now.
One of three in Duqm
Two other large-scale ammonia projects are planned for Duqm:
- the HYPORT® Duqm green ammonia project. Deme Concessions and OQ plan a green ammonia facility of similar size, with a long-term off-taker (Uniper) already secured.
- and SalalaH2, where a consortium of partners (OQ, Marubeni, Linde and Dutco) will convert OQ’s existing, fossil-fed ammonia plant in Salalah to run on green hydrogen feedstock.