Higher output and a jump in oil prices lifted Oman's revenues by 31 percent in the first half of the year to 4.22 billion Oman rials ($10.96 billion), the ministry of national economy's bulletin said on Sunday.

Average oil production rose 8.1 percent to 856,700 barrels per day in the first half versus a year earlier, it said.

Oman sold its oil at an average price of $77.57 per barrel, up 69.7 percent from the same period a year earlier.   

Oman is a small independent oil producer in a region with Opec's largest crude exporters, but its oil has a big influence on international markets, as it is used in benchmark pricing for around 12 million barrels per day of crude exported from the Middle East to Asia.

Its natural gas production increased 6.3 percent to 563.551 billion cubic feet in the first half, the data showed.   

The sultanate has awarded a number of exploration contracts to foreign companies in the last five years to boost gas production, to meet rising domestic demand.   

The country's expenditure rose 8.8 percent to 3.52 billion rials in the first half, achieving a budget surplus of 702.8 million rials. Oman has forecast a deficit of 810 million rials for 2010 after basing its budget on the price of oil at $50 per barrel. - Reuters