#Oman to Use Oil Windfall to Cut Public Debt, Boost Spending - Bloomberg

Oman to Use Oil Windfall to Cut Public Debt, Boost Spending - Bloomberg

Oman plans to use the windfall from surging oil prices to trim its public debt and boost spending on developmental projects, according to the Gulf nation’s ruler.

“We will seek to exploit the high oil revenues as much as possible to get rid of the state’s public debt,” Sultan Haitham bin Tariq said, according to state-run Oman News Agency. “What is left will be spent on development projects.”

Oil’s surge on the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed crude above the break-even level for almost all the Middle East’s producers, raising the prospect of significant budget surpluses for even the weakest economies if prices remain high.

Oman has implemented a series of reforms to balance its budget and lower its debt, including the introduction of value-added tax last year. The sultanate’s finance ministry in January projected a budget deficit of $3.9 billion for this year, based on oil prices at $50 a barrel.