Oman records RO 1.2 billion budget surplus

Muscat: The state’s general budget recorded a financial surplus amounting to about RO 1.208 billion compared to a deficit of RO 1.7 billion in the same period in 2021, Oman’s Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.

The state’s general revenue increased by 42.3% until the end of October 2022 to RO 11,862,000,000, compared to RO 8,333,000,000,000 during the same period in 2021, as a result of the increase in oil prices and crude production.

The monthly bulletin issued by the Ministry of Finance indicated that the net oil revenues (oil and gas) collected until the end of October 2022 increased by 50.5% to reach about RO 9.244 billion, compared to RO 6.141 billion until the end of October 2021.

This increase is driven by the spike in the average price of collected oil, which was $95, in addition to the increase in average production to about 1.56 million barrels per day.

The current revenues collected until the end of October 2022 was RO 2.594 billion, an increase of about 21.8%, compared to RO 2.129 billion collected in the same period in 2021.

Public spending until the end of October 2022 was RO 10.654 billion, an increase of RO 1.315 billion 14% over the actual spending for the same period in 2021.

The development expenditures of ministries and civil units were RO 765 million, an increase of 10% compared to the same period in 2021, at the rate of 70 percent of the total development liquidity allocated for the year 2022, amounting to RO 1.100 billion. Current expenditures amounted to about RO 7.879 billion, an increase of 9.5% compared to the same period in 2021.

The total contributions and other expenditures rose to about RO 1.527 billion, compared to RO 668 million in the same period in 2021. The amount transferred for debt repayment amounted was RO 167 million.