Oil and Finance Ministers Discuss Budget Clause for Contract Stability and Graduate Employment

Oil and Finance ministers on Saturday discussed including a clause in the 2027 budget for the permanent employment of contract workers, daily wage earners, and oil institute graduates. The Ministry of Oil announced that Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudeir Al-Abbadi met Finance Minister Faleh Sari on Saturday. The meeting included the Director General of the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO), the Director General of the Oil Products Distribution Company, and directors general of the Economic, and Studies, Planning and Follow-up Departments. They addressed several shared interests, chief among them the mechanism for determining the price of an oil barrel, to advance the 2027 general budget preparation. The statement clarified discussions focused on the suitable barrel price mechanism, ensuring the budget's preparation on realistic, studied bases, aligned with evolving oil markets and economic conditions. Both sides also considered adding a clause to stabilize contract and daily wage employment, and appoint oil institute graduates, within budget procedures, to streamline administrative and functional issues within the oil sector. The ministers stressed the vital importance of ongoing coordination and cooperation between their ministries to finalize the 2027 general budget, adhering to approved legal frameworks.