Oman budget surplus at RO581mn at end May

State’s public revenues grow 3% by May 2023

Muscat: The State’s public revenue at the end of May 2023 amounted to RO 5,463 million, up by 3% when compared to RO 5,325 million registered over the same period in 2022, according to the monthly Fiscal Performance Bulletin issued by the Ministry of Finance.

This is mainly due to an increase in net oil revenue and current revenue, representing 52% and 30%, respectively, of total public revenue.

Net oil revenue amounted to RO 2,810 million at the end of May 2023, up by 9% when compared to RO 2,568 million registered over the same period in 2022. This is driven by an increase in average oil price of $84 per barrel and an increase in average oil production to 1,064,000 barrels per day.

At the end of May 2023, net gas revenue amounted to RO 1,003 million, down by 26% when compared to RO 1,356 million registered over the same period in 2022. This is due to the deduction of gas purchase and transport expenses from total revenue collected from the Integrated Gas Company.

Current revenue by the end of May 2023 registered RO 1,644 million, up by 18% when compared to RO 1,393 million collected over the same period in 2022.

By the end of May 2023, public spending amounted to RO 4,882 million, up by RO 188 million, i.e. 4% compared to actual spending over the same period in 2022.

The following are the most important items of public spending: Current expenditure at the end of May 2023 amounted to RO 3,365 million, down by RO 320 million, i.e. 9% when compared to an amount of RO 3,685 million registered over the same period in 2022.

As for the development expenditure of civil ministries by the end of May 2023, it reached RO 289 million, representing 32% of total development spending, i.e. RO 900 million, allocated for 2023.

Further, by the end of May 2023, the total amount of contributions and other expenses amounted to RO 678 million, up by 31% when compared to an amount of RO 516 million registered over the same period in 2022. This increase is a result of electricity sector subsidy and oil product subsidy by RO 244 million and RO 143 million, respectively, at the end of May 2023. Additionally, an amount of RO 166 million was transferred to future debt obligations budget-item.

The State’s General Budget registered a surplus of RO 581 million by the end of May 2023, compared to a surplus of RO 631 million achieved over the same period in 2022.

Meanwhile, the National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI) indicated in a recent report issued in June 2023 that the GDP at fixed prices increased by 4.7% by the end of the first quarter of 2023, registering RO 8.7 billion when compared to RO 8.3 billion over the same period in 2022. During the first quarter of 2023, the value-added of oil activities increased by 3.5%, registering RO 2.8 billion when compared to the figures recorded over the same period in 2022. – ONA