Muscat: By the conclusion of the third quarter of 2024, Oman's public revenue had reached OMR9.19 billion, marking a 4% increase from the preceding year's figure of OMR8.88 billion, as reported in the Fiscal Performance Bulletin issued by the Ministry of Finance.
The third quarter of 2024 witnessed a notable rise in net oil revenue, which had reached OMR5,436 million, an increase of 12% from the previous year's total of OMR4,838 million. This growth was primarily attributed to a higher average realized oil price of $83 per barrel, coupled with an average daily oil production of 999,000 barrels. This reflects the effective strategy employed by Energy Development Oman (EDO) in managing oil revenue collection and cash flow.
In terms of net gas revenue, the third quarter of 2024 saw a decrease to OMR1,345 million, a 15% drop from the previous year's total of OMR1,583 million. This decline was attributed to a shift in the methodology for collecting gas revenue.
By the end of the third quarter of 2024, the current revenue stood at OMR2,399 million, a decrease of OMR55 million from the same period in the previous year, with a total revenue of OMR2,454 million.
Public spending by the end of the third quarter of 2024 amounted to OMR8,722 million, an increase of OMR627 million from the previous year's total of OMR2,454 million.
Furthermore, the expenditure on current activities by the end of the third quarter of 2024 amounted to OMR6,152 million, a decrease of OMR25 million from the previous year's total of OMR6,177 million.
In terms of development expenditure, the civil ministries and units saw a total of OMR840 million allocated for development, representing 93% of the total development spending, with an additional OMR900 million set aside for the year 2024.
The total contributions and other expenses by the end of the third quarter of 2024 totaled OMR1,731 million, marking a 45% increase from the previous year's total of OMR1,197 million, primarily due to the implementation of the social protection system. The expenditure on the social protection system, electricity, and oil products saw increases of OMR419 million, OMR463 million, and OMR197 million, respectively. Additionally, OMR300 million was set aside for future debt obligations.
By the end of the third quarter of 2024, the Ministry of Finance had successfully disbursed more than OMR916 million to the private sector, reflecting the efficient processing of payment vouchers through the e-financial system.
Concurrently, the government managed to maintain public debt at OMR14.4 billion by the end of the third quarter of 2024, a decrease from the previous year's total of OMR15.7 billion.
