Oman: Betting on Future Energy

Oman is entering a new phase in its energy journey. The country, which built a significant part of its modern economy on oil and gas, is now expanding its energy base to include solar, wind, green hydrogen, and smart grids, in response to rapid shifts in the global economy and changing rules in the energy market. This transition does not mean abandoning Oman’s legacy in the traditional energy sector, but rather leveraging the expertise, infrastructure, and strategic geographic location accumulated over the past decades to build a more diversified and sustainable energy economy. With promising solar and wind resources, vast land areas, and ports and industrial zones such as Sohar and Duqm, Oman is well-positioned to gradually transition from the role of a traditional energy producer to a more influential player in the low-emission energy economy. The contours of this renewable energy journey extend to hydrogen, green ammonia, energy storage, smart grids, and artificial intelligence. If Oman succeeds in converting these potentials into projects, investments, and industries, its experience could become a significant model for how an energy-producing country can carve out a new position for itself in the future global energy landscape.

The global energy sector is undergoing rapid transformation, where renewables are no longer just an alternative to fossil fuels but have become a core component of the future energy system. Solar and wind energy lead this transition, driven by declining technology costs, improved efficiency, advances in storage technologies, and the growing need to reduce emissions while maintaining energy security. Oman possesses key assets to capitalize on this shift. Solar and wind resources, combined with vast land areas and strategic geographic location, provide a foundation for developing large-scale renewable energy projects, not only to meet domestic electricity demand but also to support new industries linked to hydrogen and exports.

However, the future of renewable energy will not depend solely on adding more solar and wind plants. The fundamental challenge lies in integrating these variable sources into a stable and flexible power system. This is where hybrid systems come into play, combining solar, wind, and battery storage, and potentially hydrogen as a means for larger-scale and longer-duration energy storage. During daylight hours, solar power can supply a significant portion of electricity, while wind energy complements production at different times. Batteries store surplus energy and feed it back into the grid when needed. Hydrogen, on the other hand, offers a solution for long-term storage. Thus, renewable energy evolves from a collection of isolated projects into an integrated system that enhances energy security and lays the foundation for new industries.

If solar and wind represent the core of the electricity production transformation, green hydrogen can serve as a key tool for extending the transition to sectors where emissions are difficult to reduce through electrification alone. It can be used in industry, heavy transport, petrochemicals, fertilizer production, and energy storage, and can be converted into green ammonia to facilitate transportation and export. Here, Oman has a strategic opportunity. Its location on global trade and energy routes, along with the presence of ports and industrial zones like Sohar and Duqm, can help build industrial ecosystems around hydrogen and its derivatives. The key idea is not merely to produce hydrogen as a standalone commodity, but to create low-emission industrial complexes that use renewable energy and hydrogen in their own production processes. Instead of exporting raw energy, Oman can add value by producing ammonia, low-carbon fuels, chemicals, and industrial products linked to clean energy.

At the same time, carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies can play a role during the transition phase, particularly in industrial sectors where emissions are difficult to eliminate entirely. Thus, three pathways can integrate: renewable energy for electricity generation, clean hydrogen for reducing emissions in industry and transport, and carbon capture technologies to address residual emissions.

Building this system requires smarter infrastructure. Thousands of solar panels and wind farms can be built, but this will not be sufficient if electricity grids continue to operate in a traditional manner. The new system requires a network capable of handling multiple and variable sources, managing storage, forecasting demand, and balancing supply and consumption in real time. This is where artificial intelligence comes in. AI can analyze weather, consumption, energy production, and equipment status data, enabling predictions of solar and wind output, optimizing electricity distribution, detecting faults early, and reducing grid losses. Smart grids can also make consumers more active participants in the energy system. Homes, factories, and commercial buildings can become both producers and consumers of electricity, while smart meters and demand management systems can shift consumption to times when electricity is more available and less costly.

The energy transition would be incomplete if the transport sector remained heavily dependent on traditional fuels. Renewable energy can provide the electricity needed for electric transport, smart grids can manage charging stations, and hydrogen and its derivatives can offer solutions for heavy transport and sectors difficult to electrify directly. AI can also optimize transport routes, manage traffic flow, reduce energy consumption, and improve shipping and distribution operations. Most importantly, these technologies create a new economy around energy that extends beyond electricity generation to manufacturing, digital services, logistics, engineering, storage, hydrogen, and smart transport.

The full picture becomes clear here. Oman faces not only the task of increasing its share of renewable energy but also the opportunity to build an integrated system starting with solar and wind, extending to storage, hydrogen, and ammonia, supported by smart grids and artificial intelligence, and culminating in more efficient and low-emission industrial and transport sectors. This transition gains special significance with the upcoming Oman Climate Week 2026 in Muscat from September 14 to 16. The event represents an opportunity to showcase an integrated vision linking climate, energy, investment, industry, and transport, and to drive the shift from vision to implementation.

Ultimately, the global race is no longer just about possessing cleaner energy sources, but about owning a smarter, more flexible energy system capable of creating economic value. Here, Oman has a strategic opportunity to redefine its position in the global energy economy: from a traditional energy producer to a player in the low-emission energy economy, and from reliance on a single source to building a more diversified, intelligent, and resilient system.