Opec member Kuwait's oil earnings in the first two months of the current 2004/2005 fiscal year make up about half of the budgeted oil income for the whole year, an independent economic think-tank said Saturday.
The emirate is estimated to have collected about 1.315 billion dinars ($4.38 billion) in April and May, compared to budget forecasts of 2.735 billion dinars ($9.12 billion) for the year, Al-Shall Economic Consultants said.
Kuwait's fiscal year runs from April 1 to March 31.
Al-Shall said the price of Kuwaiti oil was $30.9 a barrel in April and $34 in May, an average of about $32.5 a barrel.
That was up from the budget price of $15, an increase of 116.7 per cent. It said Kuwait has been producing 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd), about 514,000 bpd or 27 percent over its previous Opec quota of 1.886 million bpd.
Kuwait's quota was raised to 2.05 million bpd following Opec's decision on Thursday to raise its total output by two million barrels to 25.5 million bpd.
If the current oil earnings are calculated on an anual basis, the emirate will boast close to 7.89 billion dinars ($26.3bn) in the current fiscal year, the highest oil income in more than three decades. (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
