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29 March 2024

Oman’s fiscal surplus down in first 4 months

Published
By Staff

Oman recorded a large fiscal surplus in the first four months of 2013 but it was nearly 30 per cent below the surplus in the same period of last year.

Official data showed the decline was mainly due to a 17 per cent increase in public expenditure although oil export earnings were higher.
 
The figures by the Ministry of National Economy showed the surplus stood at RO1,033 billion (Dh10.2bn) in the first four months of 2013 compared with RO1,469bn in the first four months of 2012.
 
Spending increased by about 17.7 per cent to RO3,683bn from RO3,130bn in the same period.
 
The country’s revenue also rose by around 2.5 per cent following a 10.1 per cent increase in oil export earnings to RO3,598bn from around RO3,268bn, the figures showed.
 
Higher oil income due to strong crude prices and an increase in Oman’s oil output boosted the country’s total revenue to RO4,716.9bn from around RO4,599.8bn in the same period. But the country’s gas revenue dived by nearly 25 per cent to RO513 million from RO687bn.
 
The Ministry’s monthly bulletin showed Oman’s oil output surged to 931,000 barrels per day in the first four months of 2013 from around 888,000 bpd in the first four months of 2012. But the average price of Oman’s crude slipped to around $108 a barrel from $111.
 
The increase in expenditure was in both current spending and investment which rose by 10.5 and 8.3 per cent respectively.
 
The largest increase was in gas production investment, which leaped by nearly 54 per cent. Oil production investment declined by 8.5 per cent while there was a 10 per cent rise in defence and security allocations, 11.7 per cent in allocations for civil ministries and 15.7 per cent for oil sector current spending.
 
An increase in crude prices to their highest annual average in 2012 allowed Oman to record its highest fiscal surplus of RO3,222m compared with an actual deficit of RO113.2m in 2011.
 
The surplus last year was mainly a result of a 33.8 per cent increase in oil export earnings to nearly RO10.43 billion from RO7.79 billion due to higher prices and growth in Oman’s oil production to 918,000 bpd from 884,000 bpd.
 
The price of Oman’s crude rose to an average $109.6 a barrel from $102.9 in the same period and this boosted the country’s total actual revenue by about 31.6 per cent to RO13.98bn from around RO10.62bn.
 
Oman, which controls nearly five billions of proven oil reserves, expects to boost spending in its 2011-2015 development plan by a whopping 113 per cent as it forecasts high oil prices and is pursuing plans to boost crude output.