[Oman-L] Oman needs at least a US$55/b oil price to balance its budget

[Joachim Duester]

Oman offers four oil, gas areas for exploration   
Source: Gulf Times, 24 June 2009

Oman, the biggest oil producer in the Arabian Gulf that isn’t a member of Opec, is offering four areas for exploration, the country’s oil minister said.

The country is offering blocks 40, 51, 36 and 38 for exploration and hopes to sign one or two production-sharing agreements with companies this year, Mohammed bin Hamad al-Rumhy said.

Oil prices should stay between $ 60 and $ 75 a barrel this year, he said. The country needs oil prices of at least $ 55 a barrel to balance its budget. "I don’t think the world is ready to pay more than $ 70 a barrel for too long," al-Rumhy said. "It could creep up to $ 75, but the economy isn’t strong enough to pay more."