Decarbonisation of Oman’s industrial sector – a significant contributor to the country’s annual carbon emissions – has the potential to make available as much as 8 billion cubic metres (BCM) per annum of natural gas for repurposing by 2050, according to Oman’s Net Zero strategists.

The figure was shared during a recent workshop on the theme, ‘Net Zero Neutrality – Industry Sector’, organised by the Environment Authority for stakeholders mandated to reduce their carbon footprints in line with Oman’s pledge to become Net Zero by 2050. Held as part of the Environment Authority’s ‘National Net Zero Programme, the three-week-long workshop was one of many sector-wise forums targeting key sectors with sizable carbon footprints.

According to energy experts, an annual saving of 8 BCM of natural gas is a substantive amount that, with suitable ‘greening’, could be repurposed for value-added downstream processing or exports. In comparison, Oman produced around 40 BCM of gas in 2022 to support, among other uses, LNG exports, refining and petrochemicals, power and water production, industry and manufacturing and oilfield purposes.

In a post, the Environmental Authority said the workshop yielded a set of initiatives and recommendations for reducing carbon emissions in the sector, as well as solutions to potential decarbonization challenges.

Significantly, the industrial sector accounted for 32 per cent of Oman’s total CO2 emissions of 28.4 million tonnes (Mt) in 2021. The sector encompasses petroleum refining, petrochemicals, methanol, urea, ammonia, cement, iron and steel, and aluminium-based industrial activities.

However, a number of decarbonization levers is proposed to be rolled out over the coming years to help cap and reduce CO2 emissions from these constituent segments of the industrial sector. These levers will take the form of, among others, green hydrogen, Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) activities, process electrification, grid connectivity, and enhanced process efficiencies – initiatives that are expected to slash CO2 emissions by as much as 89 per cent by 2050.

CCUS projects with a combined capacity to capture and sequester 6 – 7 million tonnes per annum of CO2 will be required by 2050 to support this broad decarbonization goal, according to details shared during the workshop. Also by this timeframe, renewable electricity amounting to an estimated 70 terawatt-hours (TWh) per annum will also be needed to support the electrification of industries currently dependent on fossil-based energy resources.