Oman posts 90 million rial surplus as gas revenue jumps 61%

Summary

• Oman's budget recorded a 90 million rial surplus through the third quarter of 2026.
• Total revenue rose 16% to 9.828 billion rials, outpacing a 9% rise in spending.
• Public debt fell by more than 600 million rials to 14.1 billion, easing financing pressure.

The latest

Oman's public finances swung to a surplus of about 90 million rials by the end of the third quarter of 2026, with state revenue up 16% to roughly 9.828 billion rials, according to the Ministry of Finance's fiscal performance bulletin. Spending grew more slowly, at 9%. Gas income was the standout driver, climbing 61% year on year.

Details

• The surplus: The state budget closed the first nine months of 2026 with a surplus of about 90 million rials, according to the Ministry of Finance bulletin. The figure is the arithmetic gap between 9.828 billion rials of revenue and 9.738 billion rials of spending, leaving a thin but positive margin.
• Revenue side: Total public revenue reached roughly 9.828 billion rials through end-September, against about 8.481 billion rials in the same period of 2025, a rise of 16%. The ministry attributed the increase mainly to higher receipts from both oil and non-oil sources.
• Spending side: Public expenditure stood at about 9.738 billion rials by the end of the third quarter, up 824 million rials or 9% from roughly 8.914 billion rials a year earlier. Spending therefore grew at roughly half the pace of revenue, which is what produced the surplus.
• Oil income: Net oil revenue rose 7% to about 5.046 billion rials, compared with roughly 4.710 billion rials in the same period of 2025, according to the bulletin. Oil remains the single largest contributor to the treasury, accounting for slightly more than half of total state revenue.
• Price and output: The average realised oil price came in at 81 dollars per barrel, with average production of 1,102,000 barrels per day, the ministry said. Both figures underpin the oil revenue line and set the baseline against which any price swing in the fourth quarter would be measured.
• Gas surge: Net gas revenue jumped 61% to about 2.088 billion rials, up from roughly 1.296 billion rials a year earlier. That 792 million rial increase is larger than the gain recorded on the oil line and is the single biggest contributor to the overall revenue rise.
• Debt reduction: Public debt stood at 14.1 billion rials at the end of the third quarter of 2026, down from 14.7 billion rials at the same point in 2025, a drop of more than 600 million rials. The ministry did not break down which instruments were retired.
• What is unstated: The bulletin did not publish a figure for non-oil revenue separately, nor did it detail how the surplus is being allocated between debt repayment, reserves or additional spending. No full-year budget outturn projection was attached to the quarterly release.

Background

Oman ran years of deficits after the 2014 oil price collapse, pushing public debt sharply higher. Successive consolidation programmes cut spending growth and widened non-oil revenue, and debt reduction has since become the government's declared fiscal priority.

Between the lines

The surplus is narrow — about 90 million rials on close to 9.8 billion of spending, under 1% of outlays. That makes it vulnerable to any slippage in the 81 dollar realised oil price or the 1.102 million barrel per day output rate. The more durable signal is gas: a 61% revenue gain reduces, at the margin, how much the budget's balance depends on crude.

What's next

The Ministry of Finance's full-year 2026 fiscal outturn, due after the fourth quarter, will show whether the surplus survives year-end spending. Watch the realised oil price and whether debt falls further below 14.1 billion rials.

Source: Oman News Agency, Oman Ministry of Finance