Media ININ Economy We Trust
August 13th
By the end of the first half of 2023, the general budget of the Sultanate of Oman recorded a financial surplus amounting to 656 million Omani riyals ($1.7 billion), compared to recording a surplus of 784 million Omani riyals ($2 billion) in the same period of 2022.
The financial performance bulletin issued by the Ministry of Finance indicated that “the state’s general revenues until the end of the first half of 2023 amounted to about 6.342 billion Omani riyals, a decrease of 6% compared to the same period in 2022, which amounted to 6.725 billion Omani riyals.”
Net oil revenues up to the end of the first half of this year increased by 2%, recording about RO 3.257 billion, compared to collecting RO 3.187 billion until the end of the first half of 2022, while the average achieved oil price at the end of this period was $83 per barrel. While the average production amounted to about 1.61 million barrels per day.
net gas revenue
Net gas revenues until the end of June 2023 decreased by 36%, to reach OMR 1.115 billion, compared to collecting OMR 1.729 billion at the end of the first half of 2022; This decrease is due to changing the methodology for collecting gas revenues according to the financial system of the Integrated Gas Company, which is based on the supply of net gas revenues after deducting the expenses of purchasing and transporting gas.
Current revenues collected until the end of the first half of this year increased by 9%, recording about OMR 1.962 billion, compared to the collection of OMR 1.796 billion in the same period of 2022.
public expenditure
Public spending until the end of the first half of this year was about 55.686 billion Omani riyals, down by 255 million Omani riyals, i.e. 4% from actual spending for the same period in 2022.
The current expenditures until the end of the first half amounted to 4.78 billion OMR, down by 472 million OMR, or 10%, compared to 4.550 billion OMR during the same period of 2022, while development expenditures for ministries and civil units amounted to about 383 million OMR, a percentage. Spending amounted to 43% of the total development liquidity allocated for the year 2023, amounting to 900 million Omani riyals.
Total contributions and other expenses
While the total contributions and other expenses until the end of the first half amounted to OMR 775 million, down by 10%, compared to recording OMR 863 million in the same period of 2022; The total expenditure on items subsidizing petroleum products and subsidizing the transportation sector amounted to about OMR 155 million and OMR 54 million, respectively, and the transfer to the provision for debt repayment amounted to about OMR 200 million.
Payment of dues
On the other hand, the Ministry of Finance paid by the end of the first half of 2023 more than 507 million Omani riyals from the dues of the private sector received through bonds through the financial system.
The Ministry confirmed that, by the end of the first half of this year, it was able to repay more than 1.5 billion Omani riyals in government loans. Thus, the public debt decreased to about 16.3 billion Omani riyals, indicating that it “did not withdraw from the financial reserves until the end of the first half, as planned; As a result of the state’s general budget achieving additional financial revenues.”
