MUSCAT (The Thursday Times) — Oman recorded a budget surplus of RO90 million (about $234 million) in the first nine months of 2026, reversing a deficit of RO433 million a year earlier, as gas revenues surged, according to figures released by the finance ministry on Wednesday.
Total revenues rose 16% to RO9.828 billion (about $25.6 billion), from RO8.481 billion in the same period of 2025, while government spending increased 9% to RO9.738 billion.
Public debt fell to about RO14.1 billion at the end of September, from RO14.7 billion a year earlier, a reduction of around RO600 million.
Gas does the heavy lifting
Net gas revenues jumped 61% to RO2.088 billion, from RO1.296 billion, accounting for nearly three-fifths of the overall rise in revenue. Net oil revenues increased 7% to RO5.046 billion, with an average realised oil price of $81 a barrel and output averaging 1.102 million barrels a day.
Together, oil and gas brought in RO7.134 billion, nearly 73% of government revenue, a sign of how much the sultanate still relies on hydrocarbons despite its plans to diversify the economy under Vision 2040.
The figures come as the war with Iran and the disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have pushed up energy prices this year. This week, Poland’s Orlen cancelled a Qatari LNG deal after months of force majeure, and a credit insurer estimated that the war would cost Gulf economies $790 billion by 2030.
Spending and support
Development spending by ministries and civil government units, including economic transformation projects, reached RO1.224 billion by the end of September, 94% of the RO1.3 billion allocated for the year.
Spending on social protection programmes, the electricity sector, and petroleum product support totalled RO486 million, RO441 million, and RO280 million respectively, while RO225 million was transferred to the allocation for debt repayment.
Oman’s ratio of public debt to gross domestic product fell from 67.9% in 2020 to 34.6% in 2025, according to the implementation report of Vision 2040.
