(Bloomberg) — Saudi Arabia’s budget statement includes three different scenarios alongside its main projections for 2022, as the world’s largest oil exporter plots different revenue possibilities.

These scenarios indicate that the G20, which has historically increased expenditure during times of rising crude oil prices, may be moving more away from this model. The spending is the same in each scenario – 955 Billion Rials ($255 Billio) – regardless of income fluctuation.

Saudi Arabia’s Budget Surplus of 2022 is the First in Eight Years 

According to Sunday’s main budget forecast, there will be a surplus of 90 Billion Rials ($24 Billillion), which was the first such figure in eight years. Three other options are considered at a time of global uncertainty about Covid-19, which has made economic predictions more difficult worldwide and caused volatility in the oil markets. 

While the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbours get their major income from oil, they tend to spend more in past booms. In recent years, they’ve become more restrained. Saudi officials are planning to decrease spending in the coming two years, and then increase it slightly by 2024.

The Saudi budget statement contains three scenarios that predict a kingdom with a surplus fiscal year. There’s a “structural scenario” which doesn’t take into account fluctuations in global markets and scenarios with lower and higher revenues than the main budget prediction.

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