Saudi contemporary artist Sultan bin Fahad: ‘My medium is storytelling’ 

Saudi contemporary artist Sultan bin Fahad: ‘My medium is storytelling’ 
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Updated 05 September 2024
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Saudi contemporary artist Sultan bin Fahad: ‘My medium is storytelling’ 

Saudi contemporary artist Sultan bin Fahad: ‘My medium is storytelling’ 

DUBAI: The Riyadh-born, New York-based contemporary artist Sultan bin Fahad has been creating artworks since childhood. But, he says, he didn’t know that’s what he was doing for a long time.  

“I always felt like I had a certain creativity in me,” he tells Arab News. “I was making what I called ‘things.’ But it was a hobby, you know? I thought it was like interior design — decorating my room. I didn’t know it could be considered art.” 

At the time, bin Fahad was focused on building a career in the navy and on taekwondo. He had realistic hopes of competing in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, he says. But a series of injuries put paid to both of those dreams, and left him wondering what to do next.  

He ended up studying business in San Francisco, where his accommodation was close to an art academy.  

“I’d pass by and see their work; that was the first time I was exposed to modern and contemporary art. And I realized, ‘Oh. So whatever I’ve been doing is probably considered some sort of art.’” He laughs. “That’s how I became aware of my ability to create artworks.” 

He has become known particularly for his intricate and colorful beaded works, often created by artisans from the Hausa tribe in Nigeria.  

“They have an interesting story,” he says. “They are Muslims, they study the Qur’an. But they kept the language of their tribe. They know all about Saudi. You can actually find descendants of the same tribe in Jeddah and Makkah. Back in the day, they travelled or went for Hajj and they never left. They stayed there for three or four generations.”  

Beyond the physical side of his work, however, he says the most important thing is that each piece tells a story.  

“I always say my medium is storytelling. I hate it when you show someone something and they say, ‘OK, what am I looking at?’ That means you definitely failed to show any emotion in your work. Like, I still make abstract paintings, and there is basically nothing to say about them. But people forget that there is an emotion when you look at something: you might feel happy, you might feel sad, you might be attracted to the colors. But if you look at any piece and you don’t get any idea in the first 10 seconds, then I failed.” 

Here, bin Fahad talks us through some of his most significant works. 

‘Delights III’ 

This series, “Delights,” came about during COVID lockdowns. I collect a lot of found objects, because they inspire me. I’d found these small gift boxes that used to have candy or nuts in. They come with different phrases on them, like, “May your day be filled with happiness and joy.” And there’s always a picture of shaking hands. The handshake is a universal gesture. And during COVID, we didn’t have that. People didn’t shake hands. Some people didn’t even see anyone. It was a dark time. So I thought, “OK, what if we had something in people’s homes, to give joy and a little hope?” First of all, I did a series of beaded works, and they were shown in an online art fair. Then this friend of mine who is a carpet maker had the idea of making carpets designed by artists from the GCC. And they chose me to represent Saudi. So, I designed this carpet. It’s this whole concept of hopeful, beautiful work that you can see every day and can give you good energy. It’s not an artwork; it’s part of the house. It’s living with you. 




‘Delights III’ 

 

‘Desert Kite’ 

This was created for Desert X AlUla. AlUla is so beautiful. You can’t compete with it. So I wanted something that would basically separate you from the environment; something with walls, so you don’t know what’s around you and you can basically listen to the environment — to silence. 

I have this fascination with history and heritage. There are these very interesting structures around the north west of Saudi and the south of Jordan: desert kites. The first time they discovered them was, I think, during World War Two. They were flying over them. You only can see them from above. And I wondered what their purpose was. Some people say that they’re prehistoric animal traps from thousands of years ago, so my intention was to create something telling that story, so that little blue-green object inside? That’s like the bait — food or water. That makes the animal go inside. Then they’re trapped. And inside the sculpture (on the walls) are a lot of mythical animals: the Medusa, the eagle, the Sphinx — and they’re all trapped in there too. And inside you can sit and actually listen to silence, which is very unusual in a place that is open like that. It’s very interesting. 

One thing I really liked with this work was people’s interpretation of it. A lot of people said it looked like a keyhole — so it was the key to another culture or civilization; or it was the key between the sky and the Earth. I liked how people became their own curator. I’m happy to have people interpret my work the way they see it — as long as they get something out of it.  




‘Delights III’ 

‘Window’ 

This was for my project “The Red Palace.” It’s one of my dearest projects. It made me comfortable with what I’m doing. This was my first real installation work, and my first time really doing something conceptual — almost like theater. And it was my first project with the Hausa artisans. And it’s dear to me because it’s a building I was really inspired by — I always used to walk past it as a kid and I always loved it. It defined architecture in Riyadh and it’s central to the history of Saudi Arabia, whether as a royal palace or as a government building. Everything from the Forties or Fifties to the Nineties was run from that palace.  

The whole idea started with Diriyah Season. They wanted to do an exhibition, and I had this idea of doing a performance called “The Royal Dinner.” During that time, King Saud had three chefs, and they’d have a set menu. People think that, in Saudi Arabia at that time, it was all Bedouin. But no, we had sophistication. But nobody talks about it, and it’s not in in books. So I wanted to recreate this royal banquet to celebrate those behind the scenes; the labor that people don’t know about. I submitted this idea to the Ministry of Culture, and they approved it. So then I went and visited the palace, and I was like, “OK, this is much bigger than my idea, why don’t we expand it?” So we did a lot more, including “Window,” which has actually now been acquired by the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. It’s another dear work to me, because each window was reclaimed from a region of the Kingdom. And it’s backlit, so it shows you how beautiful it would feel to be in those houses with those windows. And it unifies all the regions into one. Like a lot of my work, it’s also nostalgic. When you see those windows, you think back: “Oh, I remember the time when we were kids and playing here and there.”  




‘Window’ 

‘Trust’ 

These chairs were thrones for my “Red Palace” project. When I was looking into doing some beaded work — I wanted to do something in Africa, generally — I didn’t know how to get a contact. I saw I had an Instagram follower from Nigeria. I had no idea who she was. I just DM’d her, and asked if she knew anyone who could make beading work in Nigeria. She said she didn’t, but she could look into it. And she found someone. I showed them what I wanted to do — this was for “The Red Palace” — and while I was doing that, she messaged me and said: ‘Can I ask you a question? Why did you trust me to do this?’ I said, ‘Well, if you want something done, you have to trust someone.” Otherwise I’d have to have travelled myself, you know? When I told the curator this story, she said, “We have to call that piece ‘Trust.’” Because that’s what it was based on. This collaborative work we did, with workmanship like this, they don’t know how to create something new; they just work on what they know — they bead chairs traditionally. I needed to see if they could do it the way I wanted it to be. But that first collaboration led to a lot of other pieces, because they were open to the idea of doing it in a different form. That’s where the trust came from.  




'Trust'

‘Masallaci’ 

This work is very dear to me. It’s a giving-back-to-the-community work. It’s a beautiful story. During the time when I was doing “The Red Palace” and “Trust,” the Hausa people that were working with me, they work in a village next to Abuja in Nigeria. When they have work, they travel there from their villages and they rent part of the place they’re working in for accommodation. I asked them where they prayed. It kind of made me feel like responsible, like I needed to support the community that was working for me. So, I asked them to decorate part of the place they were working in as a mosque — in their own way, their own traditions, their own language; the writing you see is the Hausa language, not Arabic — in exchange for me renting the space for them, to pray and live and work, for a whole year. Everything inside the mosque is beaded, except the floor. Even the furniture. And they sent a turban for me — you can see it in the picture, a little white turban. The imam of the mosque in Nigeria wears this turban, so this was their gift for me. It’s one of my favorite works. And it was really a collaboration; they designed it themselves, I just gave them the idea. 

‘Laser’ 

This project was called “GWPOW” — which stands for Gulf War Prisoners of War. It’s about the Gulf War, but it’s also relevant to what’s happening now in Gaza. It’s about how life is stolen from kids who become soldiers when they’re supposed to be playing and living. They don’t take the decision, somebody else does.  

I was 19 during the first Gulf War. I wanted to volunteer but I couldn’t, because of my injuries — I’d just had my second knee surgery. So I ended up volunteering as a translator. I went and saw the prisoners of war. Some of them were younger than me. They were, like, 16. They didn’t know what they were fighting for. They were just pushed into the war.  

So this project was about the war, but it’s also thinking about those kids. They were supposed to be playing, not fighting. So I was thinking, ‘How can I portray those kids living during that time, in the desert, waiting to fight or to be killed?’ So this project became, like, a playroom for grownups. A recreation center in a war zone — everything is kind of childish. This is one of maybe six paintings I did as part of it, along with beaded works. It’s a pencil drawing, but there’s some collage on it, and some abstract painting, and some ink, so it’s mixed media. So the guy holding the lightsaber, that helmet looks like Darth Vader, but it’s not. It’s the helmet of Saddam Hussein’s Fedayeen corps. And I imagined these kids thinking of being a superhero.  




'Laser'

‘Possession’ 

I saw these people at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. At certain times they open it for women, and they allow people to go privately. I was there with my mom and my family and there were screens, and there were these ladies touching the screens. And to me, it felt like, for them, they were in the highest stage of being possessed by religion, in a good way. Feeling invulnerable. They felt like they are connecting with the Prophet. I mean, I don’t know what it meant to them. I don’t know why they were doing it, but it felt so passionate. And it touched me. I felt like, if it gives them satisfaction, let them do it. It felt surreal to me — but I felt their passion.  

‘Once Was A Ruler’ 

This is a combination of different antiquities that were in the National Museum. I was working there at the time. I wanted to talk about something that is taboo. A lot of people think that these pieces are statues of gods. That’s why they’re hidden away. But at that time, these civilizations were not making big sculptures of their gods, they were making them of themselves. They were a sign of power. So I made it look like an X-ray, and I put human bones on it to show that they are human. They were once a ruler, yes, but a person, not a god.  




‘Once Was A Ruler’ 

‘R III’

“R III” means Ramses the Third. I did this in Egypt, at the Pyramids of Giza. Like with AlUla, this is a place I am in awe of. Like, I can’t compete with nature or with history, so I tried to work with it, complementing the place without actually trying to put my force or my creative energy in it. I was humbled in these places. So, I can’t compete with the Pyramids, but I tried to make something inspired by them. When you look at it from above, you see it has the seal of Ramses the Third. That seal has been found near AlUla, and that means he was probably there — not for fighting, but probably exploring, looking for copper or something — because the pharaohs wouldn’t usually let their seals be carried by others. So I wanted to show this bridge between Ancient Egypt and Saudi Arabia.  


Pakistan demands end to forced Palestinian expulsions from West Bank at UN

Pakistan demands end to forced Palestinian expulsions from West Bank at UN
Updated 3 min 44 sec ago
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Pakistan demands end to forced Palestinian expulsions from West Bank at UN

Pakistan demands end to forced Palestinian expulsions from West Bank at UN
  • It calls full UN membership for Palestine not a symbolic gesture but a legal and moral imperative
  • Pakistan says 90 percent destruction of Gaza proved that Israel’s war was to end Palestinian existence

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday condemned the forced expulsion of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), warning such actions could jeopardize peace as it called for the establishment of a Palestinian state with full UN membership.
Pakistan’s Alternate Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, made the remarks while attending a UNSC briefing on the Middle East, including the situation in Palestine.
The Pakistani diplomat said to move beyond the perpetual cycle of violence and destruction, the international community must prioritize pursuing a just and lasting peace across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, not just in Gaza.
“Peace cannot take root as long as Israel’s actions in the occupied West Bank continue with impunity,” he told the Council. “Over 50,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced, the largest mass expulsion since 1967. Military raids, settler violence and illegal land annexations intensify daily.”
“These are not isolated incidents but part of a deliberate strategy to erase Palestinian identity from their own land,” he continued. “It is ethnic cleansing in real time. If this Council is serious about peace, it should ensure that the ceasefire extends beyond Gaza to all occupied Palestinian territories.”
Ahmad also underscored the importance of allowing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to assist Palestinians, saying Israel was legally obligated under Article 2 (5) of the UN Charter to facilitate its work.
“The deliberate targeting of aid agencies is a moral outrage and a violation of international law,” he said.
He further highlighted that over 90 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure — homes, businesses, hospitals and places of worship — had been reduced to rubble.
“This is not just destruction but an assault on an entire people’s existence,” he said, adding that the scale of suffering demanded more than just international sympathy and required decisive action.
“We must revive a credible, irreversible political process that leads to the establishment of a Palestinian state,” Ahmad said. “Full UN membership for Palestine is not a symbolic gesture: it is a legal and moral imperative.”
 


Boxer has egg on his face after fight rival reminds him of failed doping test

Boxer has egg on his face after fight rival reminds him of failed doping test
Updated 26 February 2025
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Boxer has egg on his face after fight rival reminds him of failed doping test

Boxer has egg on his face after fight rival reminds him of failed doping test
  • The left-handed smack was a not-so-subtle reference to Benn’s failed doping test that derailed their planned fight in 2022
  • After Tuesday’s press conference, the sons faced off and exchanged words before Eubank Jr. pulled an egg from his pocket and hit Benn, who had to be restrained by several burly security guards

MANCHESTER, England: Chris Eubank Jr. smashed an egg into Conor Benn’s face during a staredown between the rival boxers in a chaotic encounter Tuesday to promote their April 26 bout.

The left-handed smack was a not-so-subtle reference to Benn’s failed doping test that derailed their planned fight in 2022. Benn argued successfully that his consumption of eggs elevated his testosterone levels.

It’s been more than 30 years since the boxers’ fathers — Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank — met twice in the ring in one of Britain’s great rivalries.

After Tuesday’s press conference, the sons faced off and exchanged words before Eubank Jr. pulled an egg from his pocket and hit Benn, who had to be restrained by several burly security guards. Eubank Jr. was also held back as both sides were separated.

The fighters, who will square off in a middleweight bout at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, later took to social media.

“That’s the only shot you’ll land on me,” the 28-year-old Benn wrote on his X account along with an expletive. “2 rounds you are finished.”

The 35-year-old Eubank Jr. wrote: “Apparently egg contamination was the reason for his two failed drugs tests. So I contaminated him with an egg.” In another post featuring a photo of Benn with egg on his face, he wrote, “Eggcellent.”

Eddie Hearn, who is Benn’s promoter, called Eubank Jr.’s actions “unacceptable.”

“The world we live in today — it will go viral, people will think it’s quite amusing. But I’ll just tell you one thing — in the fight game, everything changes now about this fight,” he told Sky Sports. “You don’t want to be backstage right now. If you see Nigel Benn tonight, run. These people, they’re not normal people, They don’t go and have a cup of tea and then forget about it and everybody calms down.”

A second press conference that was scheduled for Thursday at Tottenham was now in doubt, Hearn added.

Benn and Eubank Jr. were scheduled to fight at London’s O2 Arena in October 2022 in a catchweight bout, but it was called off after Benn’s voluntary urine test showed trace amounts of fertility drug Clomiphene, a banned substance that boosts testosterone levels while burning fat.

Benn, who has a 23-0 record, battled to clear his name and his suspension was lifted in November last year.

The WBC in February 2023 cleared Benn of intentional doping, saying the boxer’s consumption of eggs presented a “reasonable explanation” for his failed test.

The WBC said in its ruling: “Mr. Benn’s documented and highly elevated consumption of eggs during the times relevant to the sample collection raised a reasonable explanation for the adverse finding.” The sanctioning body said there was “no conclusive evidence that Mr. Benn engaged in intentional or knowing ingestion of Clomiphene.”


Pakistan in talks with IMF for up to $1.5 billion in climate financing – official

Pakistan in talks with IMF for up to $1.5 billion in climate financing – official
Updated 26 February 2025
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Pakistan in talks with IMF for up to $1.5 billion in climate financing – official

Pakistan in talks with IMF for up to $1.5 billion in climate financing – official
  • Negotiations with a four-member team currently visiting Islamabad are likely to conclude by Friday
  • IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility was introduced in 2022 to help climate vulnerable nations

KARACHI: Pakistan is negotiating for additional financing of $1 billion to $1.5 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to strengthen climate resilience, a senior government functionary said on Tuesday night, as discussions between the two sides continue over the issue.

Last year, Pakistan secured a $7 billion loan under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to continue structural reforms and consolidate macroeconomic gains achieved in the past two years through stringent financial measures.

Ranked among the ten most vulnerable countries to climate change, Pakistan has suffered extreme weather events, including floods, droughts and heatwaves, causing significant loss of life in recent years along with billions of dollars in damage to infrastructure. The 2022 floods alone inflicted losses exceeding $35 billion, prompting the government to seek international assistance for rebuilding homes and public property while investing in climate resilience projects.

Islamabad is now looking to tap into the IMF’s climate financing under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) and is engaged in talks with a four-member technical team that arrived in the capital on Monday.

“The IMF team is here and discussions are underway for climate financing,” said a senior government official privy to the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Pakistan is seeking about $1 billion to $1.5 billion from the Fund.”

He added the ongoing discussions were expected to conclude “by Friday,” with further details likely to emerge by then.

The RSF, introduced in 2022, aims to provide longer-term, affordable financing to IMF member states facing climate-related and sustainability challenges.

Countries qualify based on their vulnerability to climate shocks and commitment to policy reforms that address these risks and enhance resilience.

The facility typically requires nations to adopt structural policies, such as regulatory reforms and climate adaptation measures, which are monitored periodically to ensure compliance with agreed objectives before disbursements are approved.

Meanwhile, another IMF team is expected to arrive in Pakistan at the beginning of March to conduct a biannual review under the $7 billion EFF program.


Despite fall in inflation rate, stagnant incomes squeeze mid-income Pakistanis

Despite fall in inflation rate, stagnant incomes squeeze mid-income Pakistanis
Updated 26 February 2025
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Despite fall in inflation rate, stagnant incomes squeeze mid-income Pakistanis

Despite fall in inflation rate, stagnant incomes squeeze mid-income Pakistanis
  • Consumer inflation rate fell to lowest in over 9 years, dropping to 2.4% year-on-year in January
  • Though prices now rising more slowly, cost of living not more affordable in absence of wage growth

KARACHI: Benish Abbas, a TV producer from Pakistan’s commercial capital of Karachi, has not received a salary increment for three years, making it difficult for her family to endure the mounting costs of living.

Her story is common among salaried middle-class Pakistanis reeling under rising prices largely brought on by tough reforms under the latest bailout from the International Monetary Fund, including higher energy costs and taxes on domestic consumers and businesses.

That Pakistan’s consumer inflation rate had fallen to its lowest in more than nine years — dropping to 2.4% year-on-year in January — was expected to bring relief to mid-income Pakistanis. But even as the prices of goods are now rising more slowly, the cost of living has not become more affordable for people like Abbas in the absence of wage growth.

Inflationary pressures have also triggered protests in recent months by traders and opposition political parties.

“My salary has not increased. My husband is in the same situation [for nearly a decade],” Abbas told Arab News in an interview from her small, rented house in Karachi’s Ancholi neighborhood where she lives with her husband and two daughters.

“The rent is increasing, school fees are increasing, our electricity bill has doubled, tripled … Our salaries keep us hand to mouth.”

Though fuel prices in Pakistan have declined multiple times in 2024 and 2025 due to lower international oil prices and exchange rate fluctuations, Abbas said it did not reflect on transport fares and thus made little difference to her family.

“STICKY CORE INFLATION”

The South Asian country, currently bolstered by a $7 billion facility from the IMF granted in September, is navigating a tricky path to economic recovery. The IMF is set to review Pakistan’s progress by March, with the government and central bank expressing confidence about meeting the targets.

Pakistan’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points to 12% last month, as inflation eases and growth looks set to pick up after 1,000 basis points of rate cuts over the last eight months.

The State Bank of Pakistan has slashed rates from an all-time high of 22% last June, one of the most aggressive moves among central banks in emerging markets and exceeding its 625 bps of rate cuts in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the policy rate decision, central bank governor, Jameel Ahmad, told a press conference that inflation would ease further in January but noted core inflation remained elevated. He forecast full-year inflation in the year to June would average 5.5%-7.5%.

But these measures have not improved the lives of mid-income individuals like 26-year-old Raja Muhammad Haris who earns less than Rs30,000 ($107) a month and has not gotten a salary increment in three years.

“The inflation has increased significantly in the last two to three years,” Haris, who supports a family of eight, said. “Yet, our salaries have not increased in proportion to the inflationary rate.”

A civilian employee of the Pakistani armed forces, Haris said he found it difficult to run his kitchen, forcing him to accumulate debt.

“We have to take a loan from the bank, sometimes we have to take it from a friend, from neighbors. We have to manage the house somehow, we have to run the house somehow,” he said. “Per month we have to borrow Rs20,000 [$71.56].”

Sana Tawfik, an economist and head of research at Karachi-based Arif Habib Limited, agreed that IMF-backed structural reforms carried out by Pakistani authorities, though necessary to put the economy on track, had burdened the average citizen.

While consumer price inflation had decreased, core inflation remained a major concern, she added.

Core inflation is a measure of inflation that removes volatile prices, like food and energy, from the consumer price index (CPI). This creates a more stable picture of underlying inflation trends, covering items like health care, textbooks, clothing, furniture, and electric appliances.

“Core inflation is still sticky and is hovering in the range of 9 to 9.5%,” Tawfik said. “It is expected to remain elevated.”

The economist said while inflation had declined significantly in terms of numbers, it continued to pressure a major chunk of the country’s population, especially due to high electricity and gas bills.

“Inflation is there, and prices are increasing,” she said, though the pace at which the two things had increased in recent months had slowed down.

Strained household budgets have also affected the sale of essentials like medicine.

Malik Nasir Khan, who runs a pharmacy at a largest medicine market in Karachi, said the prices of life-saving drugs like Paracetamol had almost doubled in just a month.

“The customers who used to buy monthly medicines are now buying medicines to last only 10-12 days,” Khan said. “Now they are not buying medicines, medicines are not being sold in large quantities.”

Housewife Farhana Asghar Khan, 48, said she had to borrow Rs1,000 ($4) from an acquaintance to buy medicines, the prices of which the ailing mother of three said exceeded far beyond her reach.

“My monthly medicines cost Rs1,500 [$5.37] and I took a loan of Rs1,000 [$3.58] from an acquaintance and bought medicines from it,” she said.

“For Rs300 [$1.07], I could only get two strips of pills.”

“BASE EFFECT IS KEY”

Mushtaq Khan, a Karachi-based economist, agreed that the status quo would continue as long as incomes were stagnant.

“The middle class is suffering as their incomes are stagnant in Pakistan while the poverty rate is increasing. The improvement in business sentiments from the economic stability is primarily felt by the elite,” he told Arab News.

Mushtaq said year-on-year inflation was low because of the base effect, which would end in May 2025, “which means the prices will start increasing from May (2025) onwards.”

He said the food sub-index had been stagnant since Oct. 2024 but was likely to move up from February onward.

“The prices of clothing have consistently increased in the range of 14%-17% year-on-year, but have come down from the 20 percent plus in 2023. The utilities and rent have settled down but will increase from April,” Mushtaq added.

Health costs remained high, rising year-on-year in the range of 13%-16%, while year-on-year inflation had decreased since 2023. Transportation costs had fallen as POL prices were down, but this was likely to reverse when the

petroleum development levy and general sales tax were added to fuel prices in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year, Mushtaq said.

“The base effect is key. The cost of living is a slow burn. The price levels may consistently increase but the year-on-year data is strongly influenced by the base effect,” the economist said. “That is the crux of the matter, prices are increasing on a monthly basis, but the year-on-year data shows a fall.”

Pakistan government spokesman Attaullah Tarar was not available for comment for this story. Officials from the ministry of finance also did not respond to requests for comment.


Pakistani exploration firm discovers new oil and gas reserves in country’s northwest

Pakistani exploration firm discovers new oil and gas reserves in country’s northwest
Updated 26 February 2025
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Pakistani exploration firm discovers new oil and gas reserves in country’s northwest

Pakistani exploration firm discovers new oil and gas reserves in country’s northwest
  • Pakistan heavily relies on oil and gas imports and has faced gas outages in recent years due to a decline in domestic reserves
  • Mari Energies, which made the discovery, says testing shows a flow of 12.96 MMSCFD of gas, 20 barrels per day of condensate

ISLAMABAD: Mari Energies, a Pakistani hydrocarbon exploration firm, has discovered new oil and gas reserves in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, it said on Tuesday, with initial tests suggesting a flow of 12.96 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of gas and around 20 barrel per day (bbl/d) of condensate.

The discovery has been made in KP’s Waziristan district at the Spinwam-1 exploratory well, which was drilled on May 28 last year, according to the exploration firm.

Mari Energies holds a 55% stake in the Waziristan block together with the state-owned Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and Orient Petroleum Inc. (OPI).

“Initial pre-acid testing of the Samanasuk Formation has shown a flow of 12.96 MMSCFD of gas and approx. 20 bbl/day of condensate at 32/64” choke, and a Wellhead Flowing Pressure of 2,127 psig (pounds per square inch gauge),”

Mari Energies said in a letter to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

“Further testing is underway, including post-acid job and assessments in the existing formation and additional targeted formations, to fully evaluate the well potential.”

The Spinwam-1 well in the Waziristan block has total depth of 4,400 meters, according to the exploration firm.

“This discovery has opened a new play within the block,” Mari Energies said.

The development comes a week after Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik said Pakistan was offering foreign investors 40 offshore and 31 onshore blocks for oil and gas exploration.

The South Asian country, which imports most of its energy needs and is currently looking for ways to lessen the costs, is currently pursuing a multi-pronged strategy to advance the energy sector, focusing on indigenization, electrification and liberalization.

Malik, who invited international investors to capitalize on opportunities in these newly opened blocks, said a significant portion of Pakistan’s natural resources was unexplored, the state-run APP news agency reported.

“Pakistan is open for business and we will provide all necessary facilitation to investors,” the petroleum minister was quoted as saying.