Government data released by Oman’s Ministry of Economy shows that the country’s oil output has jumped 6.1% to 780,000 barrels per day (bpd) for the first two months of 2009.
The good news ended there however, as figures also showed that the country sold the oil for US$45.25, almost 50% less than it did in the corresponding period of 2008.
Oman is a relatively small oil producer compared to the rest of the Middle East region and is not a member of the oil cartel OPEC. However, its oil is used as part of the pricing benchmark for the 12 million barrels of crude shipped to Asian every day.
Oman’s gas output fell to 170.867 billion cubic feet for the same period, down 0.9%.