Oman’s general budget records RO 656 million surplus in first half of 2023

Muscat: The state’s general budget recorded at the end of the first half of 2023 a financial surplus amounting to 656 million Omani riyals, compared to recording a surplus of 784 million Omani riyals in the same period of 2022.

The financial performance bulletin issued by the Ministry of Finance indicated that the state’s general revenues amounted to about RO 6.342 billion until the end of the first half of 2023, a decrease of 6 percent compared to the same period in 2022, which amounted to RO 6.725 billion.

Net oil revenues up to the end of the first half of this year increased by 2 percent, recording about RO 3 billion and 257 million, compared to the collection of RO 3 billion and 187 million until the end of the first half of 2022, while the average oil price achieved at the end of this period was 83 US dollars per barrel, while the average production amounted to about one million and 61 thousand barrels per day.

Net gas revenues decreased by the end of June 2023 by 36 percent, to reach one billion and 115 million Omani riyals, compared to the collection of one billion and 729 million Omani riyals 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.

The current revenues collected until the end of the first half of this year increased by 9 percent, recording about one billion and 962 million Omani riyals, compared to the collection of one billion and 796 million Omani riyals in the same period in 2022. Public spending until the end of the first half of this year recorded about RO 5.686 billion, decreasing by RO 255 ​​million, i.e. 4 percent from actual spending for the same period of 2022. The current expenditures until the end of the first half of 2023 amounted to about RO 4.78 billion, decreasing by RO 472 million, i.e. by 10 percent, compared to RO 4.555 billion during the same period of 2022.

Development expenditures for ministries and civil units amounted to About 383 million Omani riyals, with a disbursement rate of 43 percent of the total development liquidity allocated for the year 2023, amounting to 900 million Omani riyals. While the total contributions and other expenses until the end of the first half of this year amounted to 775 million Omani riyals, a decrease of 10 percent compared to recording 863 million Omani riyals 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. On the other hand, the Ministry of Finance paid by the end of the first half of the year 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 of 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 of the year 2023 AD, as was planned; As a result of the state’s general budget achieving additional financial revenues.