Oil Prices: Oman records $2 billion budget surplus first half of 2022

From Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja

Oman has recorded a budget surplus of 784 million rials ($2 billion) in the first half of 2022 as its revenue has grown due to rising oil and gas prices.

On Sunday, the state-run Oman News Agency (ONA) reported that the country’s total revenue by the end of June rose by over 54 per cent to 6.72 billion rials, compared with 4.36 billion rials recorded during the same period last year. 

 The budget surplus is compared to the 457 million rial deficit in the same period for 2021.

“This increase is attributed to net oil revenues going up by the end of the first half of 2022 by 40.1 per cent to reach 3.187bn (rials) compared to the same period in 2021,” ONA said. “This is due to the rise in the average oil price to $87 per barrel compared to $53 per barrel in the first half of last year.”

The report also noted that Oman’s oil production rose to 1,037,000 barrels per day from 952,000 bpd in the same period in 2021. 

Oil prices have continued to trade higher this year amid supply concerns due to Russia’s ongoing military offensive in Ukraine since February. 

Brent, the global benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, spiked over 20 per cent since the start of this year after falling from a 14-year high of about $140 a barrel in March.

In March, the Sultanate of Oman announced that the country had slated the revenue from soaring oil prices to reduce its public debt and support spending on government projects while making sure inflation does not affect basic commodity prices.