(WO) – Santos produced a report 26.3 MMboe within the third quarter, up practically 14% from the second quarter and 23% from a 12 months earlier. The good points got here because the Barossa fuel venture reached regular manufacturing and the Pikka oil discipline in Alaska ramped up. Yr-to-date manufacturing of 71.9 MMboe was about 10% greater than in the identical interval final 12 months. Santos narrowed its 2026 manufacturing steerage to 99–102 MMboe, from 99–105 MMboe. “The inflection level is right here, and I anticipate extra to return within the fourth quarter as Barossa continues its journey to excessive reliability and Pikka will get a full quarter on-line,” stated CEO Kevin Gallagher.
At Barossa, feed fuel to Darwin LNG hit a report peak of about 600 MMscf/d. The plant ran at 98.5% reliability and lifted 10 LNG cargoes and two condensate cargoes through the quarter.
At Pikka, seawater injection started, the primary oil cargo was lifted in August, and 32 growth wells have been drilled up to now. Gross manufacturing briefly topped 80,000 bpd earlier than the top of the quarter, nevertheless it was reduce twice. The primary time, a climate occasion affected the seawater remedy plant, which was nonetheless beginning up. The second time, the Kuparuk pipeline was shut in after a street accident, and import fuel provide to Pikka was suspended throughout pipeline integrity checks. Manufacturing was 69,000 bpd gross at quarter-end. Santos plans to carry output close to 70,000 bpd for a brief interval whereas water injection replenishes reservoir voidage, then ramp as much as 80,000 bpd. “This can be a deliberate choice, and a part of our disciplined strategy to reservoir administration,” Gallagher stated.
Within the Beetaloo sub-basin, Santos drilled the pilot gap of the Jibera South 1 appraisal effectively to a complete depth of three,457 m in October. The Velkerri A and B shales got here consistent with pre-drill expectations, and the Velkerri C shales had been higher than anticipated. Santos stated that helps a “dice” growth of all three layers without delay. As soon as wireline logging is full, it should drill a 3,000-m lateral. Elsewhere, the Halyard 2 effectively at Varanus Island is producing about 85 TJ per day with no water breakthrough. Development has additionally began on the Agogo Manufacturing Facility tie-in in Papua New Guinea.
Santos additionally signed a binding settlement to purchase one other 3.3% of the Papua LNG venture from TotalEnergies, elevating its stake to 21% after the state’s back-in. The deal is conditional on regulatory approvals and on a remaining funding choice, which is deliberate for the fourth quarter. After the quarter ended, ExxonMobil took over as operator of the venture’s upstream element. In Queensland, Santos and its GLNG companions agreed to amass the Larger Meridian coal seam fuel venture. Santos will maintain 30% and turn into operator when the deal completes, focused for late 2026.
