Santos targets 2026 production uptick with DLNG and Pikka progress

Santos has said that it expects accrued accumulation this year, with the archetypal cargo from the restarted Darwin LNG (DLNG) works loading its archetypal shipment and its Pikka lipid improvement successful Alaska approaching completion.

The Australian vigor institution antecedently predicted its archetypal DLNG cargo from the Barossa tract would depart by the extremity of 2025 but aboriginal said repairs to piping systems had slowed progress.

Barossa state and the start-up of lipid accumulation from Pikka are expected to assistance accumulation by up to 30% successful 2026.

Santos confirmed the archetypal cargo was being loaded onto the liquefied earthy state (LNG) tanker Kool Blizzard and is bound for Sakai successful Japan, pursuing palmy drilling and investigating of six wells successful the Barossa state field.

Pikka signifier 1 is nearing mechanical completion, with commissioning nether mode and archetypal lipid inactive expected precocious successful the archetypal 4th of 2026 (Q1 2026).

Alongside the operational update, Santos reported Q4 results for the play ended 31 December 2025, with full income gross of A$1.23bn, down 12.1% from A$1.4bn successful Q4 2024.

Free currency travel from operations was astir A$380m successful Q4, up 30% from the anterior quarter, and totalled astir A$1.8bn for 2025.

Quarterly accumulation roseate 5% from the erstwhile 4th to 22.3 cardinal barrels of lipid equivalent (mboe), portion full-year accumulation totalled 87.7mboe.

Sales volumes accrued 15% quarter-on-quarter to 24.8mboe successful Q4, taking full income volumes for the twelvemonth to 93.5mboe.

By product, LNG income gross came successful astatine A$780m successful Q4 2025, a 9.1% year-on-year diminution from A$858m. Domestic income state gross accrued by 5.9% to A$268m from A$253m.

Crude lipid gross fell 61.8% to A$66m from A$173m, portion condensate gross edged down 1.9% to A$101m from A$103m. Liquefied petroleum state gross roseate by 7.7% to A$14m from A$13m.

Operationally, the institution highlighted that successful Papua New Guinea, accumulation commenced astatine the Hides F2 good astatine an mean complaint of 60 cardinal modular cubic feet per day.

In Western Australia, home state accumulation accrued by astir 19% pursuing shutdown execution and task initiatives.

Santos besides said it had secured a mid-term LNG proviso declaration and is progressing preparations for the Beetaloo Basin appraisal programme planned for Q3 2026.

Santos managing manager and CEO Kevin Gallagher said: “The 4th fourth lifted escaped currency travel for the afloat twelvemonth to astir A$1.8bn, a beardown effect successful a twelvemonth of comparatively brushed commodity prices for the industry, which demonstrates the worth of our absorption connected borderline successful our selling and trading activities.