Oman will base its 2012 budget on an oil price of $75 a barrel and spending will increase by 12 per cent next year, its finance minister said on Sunday.

'Running surplus depends on how the oil price will behave...We have based our budget on 75 dollars,' Darwish Al-Balushi told reporters on the sidelines of a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Saudi Arabia.

When asked about an increase of spending in 2012 over 2011, he said: 'It's about 12 per cent.'

Balushi also said the non-Opec oil producer did not currently have plans for a sovereign bond issue: 'We are not at this point of time thinking of tapping the international market for bonds.' – Reuters