DOHA: Qatar posted a budget surplus of 30 billion Qatari riyals ($8.2 billion) for the third quarter of 2022, the Finance Ministry announced Tuesday. In its briefing on the actual data of Qatar"s budget in the third quarter of 2022, the Ministry said that the total revenues for this quarter amounted to 81.8 billion riyals, of which 76.3 billion riyals were oil and gas revenues, while non-oil revenues were estimated at 5.5 billion riyals. It indicated that the total expenditures in the same quarter of 2022 amounted to 51.8 billion riyals, of which 14.6 billion riyals were for salaries and wages and 18 billion riyals for current expenses, while incidental capital expenditures amounted to 1.2 billion riyals and major projects amounted to 18 billion riyals. The ministry"s data had revealed earlier that Qatar"s budget surplus in the first half of 2022 doubled several times to reach 47.3 billion riyals, compared to a surplus of 4 billion riyals during the same period of 2021. Data released from the Ministry of Finance showed that oil and gas revenues increased to 117.6 billion riyals, compared to 70.4 billion riyals in the first half of 2021, representing an increase of 67 percent. Total actual revenues achieved during the first half of this year amounted to 150.7 billion riyals, with 85.7 billion riyals coming in the second quarter, and 65 billion riyals in the first. There was a total of 33.1 billion riyals of non-oil revenues, with 27.5 billion riyals coming in the second quarter of 2022 and 5.6 billion riyals in the first. Total expenditures amounted to 103.4 billion riyals during the first half of 2022, distributed over 52 billion riyals in the second quarter and 51.4 billion riyals in the first quarter, of which 32.9 billion riyals were salaries and wages, with 17.5 billion riyals coming in the second quarter and 15.4 billion riyals in the first quarter, while 33.2 billion riyals for current expenses, distributed over 16.7 billion riyals in the second quarter, 16.5 billion riyals in the first quarter, and 2.2 billion riyals in the first half for incidental capital expenditures, distributed by 1.1 billion riyals during the second quarter and the same in the first quarter. The level of spending on major projects reached 35.1 billion riyals during the first half of 2022, distributed over 16.7 billion riyals in the second quarter and 18.4 billion riyals in the first quarter of 2022. (Qatar News Agency)