Budget deficit surges ahead to OMR3.5b on falling oil revenue

Business Sunday 28/August/2016 11:18 AM
By: Times News Service
Budget deficit surges ahead to OMR3.5b on falling oil revenue

Muscat: Budget deficit of Oman surged ahead by 82.6 per cent to OMR3.5 billion for the first half of 2016, compared to the same period of last year mainly due to falling oil revenues. The country’s oil revenue fell by 47.7 per cent to OMR1,489.3 million for the first half from OMR2,846.8 million for the same period of 2015, according to data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
The Sultanate has projected a deficit of OMR3.3 billion in the current year’s budget.
Although the country’s crude oil production rose by 3.2 per cent to 213.9 million barrels in the first seven months, the average price of Oman Crude in the international market plunged by 39.3 per cent to $36.4 per barrel for the first seven months of this year from $59.9 a barrel for the same period of last year. Similarly, the average daily production of crude moved up to 1,001,900 barrels a day, from 975,000 barrels per day for the same period of last year, the NCSI report added.
The Sultanate’s total revenue for the first half was down by 32.1 per cent to OMR3,110.1 million, whereas total public expenditure edged down by only 3.2 per cent to OMR5,612.9 million during the six-month period under review.