2000 BUDGET LIFTS OIL REVENUES [Archives:1999/45/Front Page]

SANAA: Sources in the Finance Ministry indicated that the government has approved the budget for the year 2000 on Monday, the first of November. Due to the increase in the world price of crude oil, the 2000 budget expectedly raised oil and gas revenues significantly by 51% to the tune of 246.52 billion rials. 
According to officials at the ministry, the increase of the oil revenues was a direct result of the recent improvement in world oil prices. The government is hoping that this development would help in strengthening the devastated economy because Yemen depends on oil for about 65% of its revenue. The picture is clear when we compare it with the 1999 budget, when the spending reached 335.5 billion rials, income 294.4 billion rials with a 41.1 billion rials deficit. The 2000 approved budget envisages spending of 422.25 billion rials, revenue of 388.95 billion rials and a net deficit of 33.29 billion rials. 
Last month, the Central Bank of Yemen mentioned that the budget deficit for the nine months till the end of September was 7.81 billion rials and said that the state budget could be in surplus if oil prices continue to increase. 
Yemen’s production of oil from all oil rich governorates such as Marib, Shabwa and Hadramout reached a total of 390,000 barrels per day. 
The Yemeni government had also lifted subsidies on wheat and flour at the start of 1999, but had continued to subsidise petroleum products for local consumption at around 11.1 billion rials.
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