(MENAFN) Oman's total subsidy estimate projections for 2015 registered a decline by 18.5 percent to USD3.39 million, in comparison with USD4.16 million estimates for last year, Times of Oman reported.
The decline in estimate is attributed to the 50 percent plunge in crude oil prices in the international markets and a reduction in subsidy for natural gas supplied to industries located within industrial estates.
The latest figures show that the subsidy estimate for petroleum products showed at USD725 million fall at USD1.50 billion in 2015, compared to an estimate of as high as USD2.22 million for last year, with the decline being attributed to the narrowing down of gap between international crude price and the price at which crude oil is sold within the country for domestic consumption.
The decline in subsidies might increase since the Omani budget was done at an estimated price of oil at USD60, but the prices fell even more to reach an almost six-year low at USD48, leading the Oman government, which has already doubled the price of natural gas supplied to industries, despite saying that the revenue from that decision will not actually be substantial.
Another major component is electricity subsidy, which showed a marginal 2.9 percent or USD20.71 million growth to USD725 million from USD704, while the total government subsidy for the first eleven months of 2014 reached USD3.71 million, which is compared with an initial estimate of USD4.16 million for the full year.
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