Omani oil output defies forecasts

Oil production in Oman rose more than 6 per cent in the first quarter, figures showed today, defying some predictions that output was in irreversible decline.

The sultanate produced an average of 786,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and natural gas condensate in the three-month period, up from 741,000 bpd in the first quarter last year, according to statistics from the ministry of national economy.

The figures are already higher than forecasts for the year offered by the Omani oil minister, Mohammed al Rumhy, in December.