Oman oil output up 2.3pc on yr in Jan-May

MUSCAT: Oman's oil production rose 2.3 percent in the first five months of 2011 to an average of 879,400 barrels per day, compared with the same period a year earlier, finance ministry data showed on Saturday.

The non-OPEC member already exceeded its production forecast of 870,000 barrels per day for 2011 when the ministry of finance unveiled the non-OPEC producer's fiscal budget in January.

The sultanate sold its oil at an average price of $94.88 per barrel in the first five months of this year, up 24.3 percent over the same period in 2010, the bulletin showed.

Oman's natural gas production rose 5 percent January to May this year to 13.963 billion cubic meters compared with the first five months in 2011, the data showed.

The usually tranquil Gulf Arab sultanate was hit by months of protests in February, following uprisings that toppled rulers in Egypt and Tunisia. Omanis, however, called mainly for higher wages, more jobs and an end to graft rather than a change of government.

Sultan Qaboos bin Said has promised a $2.6 billion spending package and the government has said it will create 50,000 public sector jobs to placate Omanis.

Copyright Reuters, 2011