BP to partner with Oman on renewable energy, green H2
BP said it is partnering with the Omani government to progress "a potential multiple gigawatt, world-class scale renewable energy and green hydrogen development" by 2030.
The strategic partnership will entail BP capturing and evaluating solar and wind data from 8,000km² of land, which will be used by the Omani government to approve future renewable energy hubs. As well as supplying the power grid, this renewable energy could also be used to develop green hydrogen production for domestic use and export markets, BP said.
"These projects will build on our gas business [in Oman], and bring wind, solar and green hydrogen together in a distinctive and integrated way supporting Oman's low-carbon energy goals," said BP chief executive Bernard Looney.
More broadly, the agreement will see BP collaborating with Oman on a renewables strategy, regulation and the reskilling of the local workforce.
"Over the past 50 years, we've advanced our hydrocarbon production. Today's agreement signals the next step in our energy journey — unlocking the potential for Oman as a low-carbon energy hub," Oman's energy minister Mohammed al-Rumhy said.
In May last year, Omani state-owned energy firm OQ announced plans to develop the country's first green hydrogen project alongside Hong Kong-based InterContinental Energy and Kuwait's clean energy investment company Enertech. The project in Oman's central al-Wusta governorate will use 25GW of solar and wind power to produce 1.8mn t/yr of green hydrogen and up to 10mn t/yr of green ammonia. It is expected to start production around 2026.
BP joined Oman's national hydrogen alliance last year and established a net zero taskforce to help develop a "roadmap" for the company in Oman. The firm operates Oman's block 61 concession, which contains the Ghazeer tight gas field. Output at Ghazeer has reached a plateau of 500mn ft³/d (5.15bn m³/yr). With an estimated 10.5 trillion ft³ of recoverable gas resources, the block has the capacity to deliver more than 30pc of Oman's total gas demand, according to BP.
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Cop 28 goals ‘feasible’ with right conditions: IEA
Cop 28 goals ‘feasible’ with right conditions: IEA
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Japan pushes abatement approach to energy transition
Japan pushes abatement approach to energy transition
Tokyo, 23 September (Argus) — Japan is keen to promote its energy transition approach, focused on carbon abatement technologies, to the wider coal-reliant Asia-Pacific region. The country has accelerated development of carbon abatement technologies to keep fossil fuels in its energy mix and boost energy security and economic growth. Japan, with its G7 counterparts, pledged to phase out "unabated" coal-fired plants by 2035, or "in a timeline consistent with keeping a limit of a 1.5°C temperature rise within reach, in line with countries' net zero pathways". This is a major step for Japan, a resource-poor country. But legislative progress aimed at developing value chains for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and cleaner fuels, such as hydrogen and ammonia, might have encouraged Tokyo to commit, especially since the G7 text allows for some wiggle room. To ensure continued use of its abated thermal power plants, trade and industry ministry has requested ¥11.2bn ($79mn) to support CCS projects, including exploration of CO2 storage sites, for 2025-26, up sharply from the ¥1.2bn budgeted for 2024-25. Japan has yet to set a date to achieve the phase-out target. But it had already promised not to build new unabated coal-fired plants at last year's UN Cop 28 climate talks, while pledging to phase out "inefficient" coal-fired plants by 2030. Less than 5pc of Japan's operational coal fleet has a planned retirement year, according to analysis by Global Energy Monitor, and these might comprise the oldest and least efficient plants. Coal capacity built in the last decade, following the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear disaster, is unlikely to receive a retirement date without a countrywide policy that calls for a coal exit. Japan's coal demand could decline, to some extent, under global divestment pressure. But the fuel remains key, as the government sees renewables and nuclear as insufficient to meet rising power demand driven by the growth of data centres needed to enable artificial intelligence. Continental divide The country is keen to extend its vision for "various" and "practical" pathways, including abatement technologies, to coal-reliant southeast Asia. This stems from Tokyo's sceptical view about promoting a more European approach to the energy transition — driven by wind and solar power — to Asian countries. Japan stresses the importance of more diversified pathways, including thermal power with abatement. The country aims to spur decarbonisation in Asia-Pacific through a platform called the Asia Zero Emission Community (Azec) initiated in 2022. Asia-Pacific accounts for more than half of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, at 17.178bn t of CO2 equivalent, according to the IEA. In Jakarta last month, 11 Azec countries emphasised the need to co-operate "to decarbonise coal power generation". The platform sets out options such as biogas, hydrogen and ammonia, and retrofitting with CCS and carbon capture, utilisation and storage. Japan's industries have already committed to carbon abatement at coal-fired plants in Asia, leveraging their technological know-how. Tokyo has pledged to provide about $70bn to support decarbonisation globally. This funding is part of wider financial assistance to help mobilise the estimated $28 trillion that Asia requires. To secure the funding, Japan has already issued part of a $139bn climate transition bond and aims to strengthen the financial support through the Asia Zero Emission Centre, the latest Azec initiative, under which transitional finance will be studied further, a trade and industry ministry official told Argus . Japan is on track to reduce its GHG emissions by 46pc by the April 2030-March 2031 fiscal year from its 2013-14 level, and hit its net zero emissions goal by 2050. By Motoko Hasegawa and Yusuke Maekawa Japan CO2 emissions by sector Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Equinor halts Norway-Germany H2 pipeline planning
Equinor halts Norway-Germany H2 pipeline planning
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