MUSCAT: Europe’s leading natural hydrogen company Helios Aragon together with Singapore-based multinational energy firm Rex International Holding have announced the signing of a joint partnership to explore for natural hydrogen in the Sultanate of Oman.
The initiative – the latest in a succession of nascent studies – underscore Oman’s significance as a potential powerhouse of natural hydrogen. Also known as geologic hydrogen (and even gold or white hydrogen), natural hydrogen is produced when water reacts with iron-rich rocks deep in the Earth’s crust. In Oman, peridotite rocks found in the Samail Ophiolite are thought to be an abundant source of natural hydrogen, often found seeping through springs and water pools.
A Joint Study Agreement signed by Rex International and the co-founders of Helios Aragon is aimed at unlocking Oman’s promising natural hydrogen potential to complement other low- and zero-carbon hydrogen fuels, colour-coded as Green and Blue mainly.
Rex International, an oil exploration and production (E&P) company listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities bourse, already has a longstanding presence in Oman’s upstream hydrocarbon sector. It has a majority interest in Masirah Oil Limited (MOL), the owner and operator of the offshore Block 50 – currently the only producing block off the country’s east coast.
Spanish-based Helios Aragon is the operator of the Monzon Natural Hydrogen Project in Spain, the first such development in Europe. Discovered in the 1960s, the field pure hydrogen at a depth of 3,500m in a good quality sandstone reservoir overlain by a thick salt section. Exploration activities are also underway in Poland and the UK by the Helios group of companies.
Helios Aragon says the Oman initiative is aimed at growing a quality global portfolio of natural hydrogen and helium projects. “Oman is widely regarded as one of the more prospective countries for the near-term discovery of commercial quantities of natural hydrogen. The geology is considered optimal for large-scale hydrogen generation, which is evidenced by the multiple surface seeps, some of which are almost pure hydrogen,” commented Ian Munro, CEO of Helios Aragon, in a statement.
“We plan to leverage exploration learnings from Spain and elsewhere in Europe together with Rex’s local operational expertise to develop a thorough understanding of the hydrogen play system in Oman. The goal is to produce the cleanest and lowest cost hydrogen, which can enhance energy security and support the transition to a lower carbon future,” he added.
John d’Abo, Executive Chairman of Rex, stated, “The Rex Group has been operating in Oman for a decade now, and the prospect of delving into a new form of energy in a geographical area that we are familiar with, is an exciting one. The joint study will allow us to evaluate further if there are synergies to be reaped and for Rex to contribute towards action against climate change in the future.”
Other international players are also seeking to unlock Oman’s natural hydrogen potential. In September 2023, US geotechnical firm Eden GeoPower signed an agreement with Oman’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals to study natural (geologic) hydrogen at peridotite-rich sites in the country. GeoPower went on to secure funding assistance from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to help advance the initiative in the Samail Ophiolite.
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