Total revenues earned by the Sultanate till the end of February 2022 stood at about RO1.918bn, which is up by 75.6 per cent over the revenue standings from the corresponding period in 2021.

The statistics were unveiled by the Financial Economic Bulletin (FEB) issued by the Ministry of Finance, which attributed the high surplus to a surge in oil price averaging US$81 per barrel as well as a hike in oil production as gas revenues touched RO509mn.

This is in addition to the fact that current revenues rose by 29.6 per cent by the end of February 2022 (over the corresponding period in 2021) due to the collection of revenues of the Value-Added Tax (VAT) and other fees, according to the FEB.

Public spending until the end of February 2022 registered about RO1.707bn, and this was driven by a rise in the repayment of loan interests, total investment expenditures (development and capital) of civil ministries, and expenses of gas transport and procurement.

The state’s budget continued to achieve a financial surplus at the end of February 2022, amounting to about RO210 million, which by itself is a far cry from the RO457mn financial deficit in the corresponding period in 2021.

The government in an earlier statement said that it had embarked on a public debt reduction programme targeting the RO19.46bn mark by the end of April 2022.