Kuwait Tuesday said it has posted record revenues of 17 billion dinars ($63.6 billion) in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, more than double budget estimates.
This is the highest revenues ever boasted by the oil-rich emirate, which sits on about 10% of global crude reserves and pumps 2.5 million barrels per day.
Thanks to rocketing oil prices the revenue for the period to the end of February compares with projected income for all of 2007/2008 of KWD8.3 billion and is 18.2% up on the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Oil revenues jumped 17.6% to KWD16 billion over the 11 months.
They were more than double the budget estimates of KWD7.45 billion for the year ending March 31, according to figures posted on the finance ministry's Web site.
The figures reflect a sharp rise in the price of oil which contributes around 94% of total revenue in Kuwait, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' fourth largest producer.
Kuwait has adopted a conservative price of $36 a barrel in calculating oil revenues but the price of Kuwaiti oil Monday touched a record high of $98.85 a barrel.
The finance ministry said actual spending in the 11-month period was KWD6.6 billion, well below a budget forecast for the full year of KWD11.3 billion.
This would leave an actual surplus of KWD10.44 billion for the 11 months, against a projected deficit of KWD3 billion for the whole fiscal year.
This will be Kuwait's ninth straight year of windfall.