Oman plans to boost its 2013 budget spending by 10 percent compared to this year's plan to fund new infrastructure projects, an official source familiar with the government's financial planning has told Arabian Business. "A 10 percent hike in spending will take care of our growth to fund development projects such as airports, ports, roads, hospitals and in the energy sector," said the source, who declined to be identified. The 2013 budget plan would be based on an oil price of US$85 per barrel and assume a deficit of about the same size as the shortfall originally projected for this year, he said. More from Arabian Business Iraq said on Wednesday that Royal Dutch Shell has denied starting talks with Iraqi Kurdistan to sign energy deals with the semi-autonomous region. Sources told Reuters last week that Shell was exploring possibilities in Iraqi Kurdistan, encouraged by the example of rivals who
