Oman posts $1.7bn budget surplus in first half of 2023

Oman posts $1.7bn budget surplus in first half of 2023

MUSCAT: Oman recorded a budget surplus of 656 million Omani rials ($1.7 billion) in the first six months of 2023 on the back of higher oil revenue, according to Oman’s ministry of finance. Oman recorded a surplus of 784 million rials in the corresponding period last year. Net oil revenue grew to 3.2 billion Omani rials in the first half of 2023, up two per cent from the same period in 2022, the ministry said in its fiscal performance bulletin. Average oil prices amounted to $83 per barrel while average oil production reached 1,061,000 barrels per day, it said.

The sultanates’ public revenue for the six months stood at 6.3 billion rials, a decline of 6 per cent annually, while public spending for the period dropped 4 per cent on an annual basis to 5.6 billion rials, the ministry said. “By the end of H1 2023, the Ministry of Finance did not withdraw from reserves as planned, as a result of generating additional revenue,” it said. Oman expects a budget deficit of 1.3 billion Omani rials in 2023, or 3 per cent of its gross domestic product. The revenue and spending estimates for the year are based on an oil price