Oman continued to ramp up its crude oil and condensates production and exports in September, reaching a new high for the year and taking advantage of rising crude oil prices to boost its revenues, data from the Ministry of Oil & Gas showed on 8 October.

The sultanate is the latest Middle East country to raise its oil supplies as the alliance of Opec and non-Opec producers ease their cuts.

Crude oil exports rose to 902,611 barrels a day (b/d) in September, up nearly 11 per cent from August levels and Oman's highest level so far this year. China accounts for almost all of the shipments, at more than 90 per cent.

Oman’s crude oil and condensates production only increased 1.6 per cent, however, averaging 990,200 b/d, the data showed. The country’s highest-ever average monthly output was 1.015 million b/d in November 2016, just before Opec and non-Opec producers, including Oman, agreed to cut output in the face of falling oil prices. Oman itself cut production by 50,000 b/d.

The sultanate now faces the opposite scenario, with global benchmark Brent crude oil prices surging past $80 a barrel amid concerns over global spare capacity.

The oil producers' group agreed in June to raise collective output by 1 million b/d, although no announcement was made on how this would be divided between the member states. Oman is one of the few non-Opec producers besides Russia that has some spare production capacity.

However, the sultanate remains in a precarious fiscal situation, with a small economy largely dependent on international oil and gas sales. This could be masked by the end of the year with higher-than-expected revenues, after Muscat set its 2018 budget based on a fairly conservative average oil price of $50 a barrel.

Current high prices may not be enough to entirely erase its deficit, however, with the Washington-based IMF estimating Oman’s breakeven price at about $78.80 a barrel.