Oman produced 164.28 million barrels of crude in the period from Jan. 1 to Jul. 31, with average daily production rising to 878,100 barrels per day (bpd) from 858,800 bpd in the same period of 2010.

The average Omani crude sales price during the first seven months of the year rose 29 percent from $77.52/bbl in the January to July period of 2010 to $100.01/bbl in 2011, the government said.

The non-OPEC sultanate's exports fell to 153.62 million barrels, down 0.50 percent from the 154.45 million barrels exported in the year ago period.

Sharp falls in sales volumes to Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore were nearly cancelled out by much higher sales to India and South Korea, with China also buying more than it did last year.

On a monthly basis, Oman increased its average oil production from 876,000 bpd in June to 882,300 in July, but the average sales price fell from $116.51 per barrel in June to $109.20/bbl.

Oman's natural gas production rose 3.7 percent year on year to 19.77 billion cubic metres, the data showed.

Copyright Reuters, 2011