Higher revenues boost Oman’s budget surplus to $1.5bln

Higher revenues boost Oman’s budget surplus to $1.5bln

Muscat – The Ministry of Finance announced on Monday that the government achieved a budget surplus of RO581mn this year till May, compared to a surplus of RO631mn in the same period last year. Public revenue was RO5.463bn in this period, a 3% increase compared to RO5.325bn in 2022. This growth is primarily attributed to higher net oil revenue and current revenue, constituting 52% and 30% of total public revenue, respectively. Net oil revenue witnessed a 9% increase to RO2.810bn, compared to RO2.568bn in 2022. This increase is attributed to the average oil price of US$84 per barrel and a rise in average oil production to 1,064,000 barrels per day, the ministry stated. However, net gas revenue declined 26% to RO1.003bn from RO1.356bn in 2022 due to deductions in gas purchase and transport expenses from total revenue collected from Integrated Gas Company. Current revenue saw a significant 18% growth, totalling RO1.644bn, surpassing the RO1.393bn collected in the same period last year. Public spending increased to RO4.882bn, up 4% or RO188mn compared to the previous year’s spending. Current expenditure decreased 9% to RO3.365bn, down by RO320mn from RO3.685bn spent in the same period in 2022. Development expenditure by civil ministries accounted