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The discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia, which led to the formation of the world’s most profitable company, will be the subject of a new Hollywood film.
In a Deadline exclusive, the Los Angeles-based Passage Pictures announced it will be producing Sands of Fortune, a historical drama based on the partnership between American geologist Max Steineke and Bedouin Khamis bin Rimthan, who are credited with the construction of the country’s first oil well in 1938.
The film’s script is written by Bernie Campbell, who reportedly spent years living in Saudi Arabia as a speechwriter and strategist.
According to Passage Pictures, Sands of Fortune will feature American and Saudi talent. The company told Deadline it is also in talks to partner with several local production companies on the project.
Oil was first struck in Saudi Arabia in March 1938, at a depth of 1,440 metres in the country’s Dammam oilfield. According to Aramco's website, the company’s history dates back to 1933, when a "Concession Agreement was signed between Saudi Arabia and the Standard Oil Company of California (SOCAL). A subsidiary company, the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC), was created to manage this agreement."
Steineke was the chief geologist hired at the time to drill for oil. In an article written by Aramco’s former CEO and President titled ‘Birth of a Dream’ for the May/June 1984 print edition of Saudi Aramco World magazine, the late Thomas C. Barger described local guide Khamis bin Rimthan as one of three hired by the team to help in the field work.
Barger wrote that it was Rimthan’s unparalleled knowledge of the land around Saudi Arabia’s Rub Al Khali or the Empty Quarter that eventually led to the discovery.
Following the discovery of oil in 1938 at the Dammam No. 7 well, which was later renamed as the country’s ‘Prosperity Well’, the entity known as Aramco or the Arabian American Oil Company was officially formed, according to the company’s official history.
Today, Saudi Armaco is known as the world’s biggest oil producing company, which recently reported a net profit of 112.81 billion riyals ($30.07 billion) for Q2 2023, ending June 30. This month’s Fortune magazine also ranked Saudi Aramco as the most profitable in the world with $159 billion, the highest annual total ever for a Fortune Global 500 company, it said.
The announcement follows the Saudi government's active campaigns to market the country’s entertainment landscape through high-profile partnerships and state-backed funds to attract key international players.
At the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in May, Saudi Arabia’s Cultural Development Fund announced two separate grants that would collectively spend $180 million in developing the local film industry while also fostering an environment that appeals to cash-rich Hollywood production houses.
Aside from funding, Saudi Arabia also offers a tax rebate on film shoots, similar to the ones offered by Dubai and Abu Dhabi, that provides up to a 40% cash-back incentive for productions that recruit crew and talent from the kingdom, while also promoting the cultural and geographical landscape of the country.
(Reporting by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)
