Oman Freezes Fuel Prices After Protests

A price freeze on Oman’s most popular fuel, M91, has been implemented for its current price at 186bz per litre.

The price of regular grade fuel has been constantly rising since January of last year. It has so far risen by 72% (from 114bz per litre) since the government eliminated its previous fixed-price policy.

Last week, there were hundreds in front of the Ministry of Oil and Gas in Muscat protesting against the rising fuel costs. It seems now that these protests have achieved results.

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Diesel and super petrol prices remain uncapped. According to a spokesman from the Ministry of Finance, it only seemed necessary to cap regular petrol as it’s the most widely used, especially by lower-income individuals who are the most affected by the rising costs.

The logic follows that only those with expensive cars use super petrol and mostly traders and companies are the ones who use diesel, so individuals from both of these categories would be able to afford the extra costs.

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Oman’s income relies significantly on its oil revenues. Therefore, with the oil prices dropping around the world, the country is severely affected. Energy subsidies were removed last year in order to compensate for the budget deficits.