SYDNEY, March 13, 2026, 10:19 AEDT
Santos Ltd shares ended Thursday up 1.49% at A$7.49, as Brent crude settled at $100.46 a barrel after tanker attacks and fresh Iranian threats kept the Strait of Hormuz in focus. 1
That move matters because Santos is one of Australia’s biggest oil and gas producers and has exposure to liquefied natural gas, or LNG. So a sustained lift in crude and LNG prices can bolster cash flow, even as the same oil shock revives inflation and rate fears that are dragging on equities more broadly. 2
Energy was the only ASX sector to finish higher on Thursday while the S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.5%. Peer Woodside Energy closed up 2.07% at A$31.05 and smaller rival Beach Energy rose 3.59% to A$1.155, underscoring how closely the group is tracking crude again. 3
The oil backdrop is doing most of the work. Jim Burkhard, vice president and global head of crude oil research at S&P Global Energy, said “the market is seriously unbalanced,” while Goldman Sachs said it now assumes 21 days of Hormuz flows at just 10% of normal before a gradual recovery. 4
There was company-specific support, too. Earlier this week, Santos and Beach approved the A$357 million Moomba Central Optimisation project in the Cooper Basin in South Australia, which Santos said should deliver more than A$600 million in capital and operating savings and cut unit production costs by the equivalent of up to $3 per barrel. The spending sits within its $45-$50 a barrel cash breakeven, the oil price needed to cover spending. 5
The company had already laid out a stronger production picture for 2026. In January, Santos said Barossa gas and the start-up of its Pikka oil project in Alaska should lift output this year, and Citi analyst Tom Wallington said the first Darwin LNG cargo could “allay investor concerns” over commissioning. Chief executive Kevin Gallagher said the two projects could “lift Santos’ production by around 25 to 30 per cent by 2027.” 2
Still, investors have not forgotten the softer annual result in February. Santos then flagged a 10% headcount cut and a review of its Australian integrated oil and gas portfolio. Dale Koenders at Barrenjoey said the market was assigning “zero value” to some undeveloped assets, while Jarden said the job cuts pointed to lower operating costs. 6
But the rally has a weak spot. The International Energy Agency still expects global supply to rise faster than demand on average in 2026, and Monica Guerra at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management said persistent oil strength could keep rates “higher for longer” — a mix that can help producers while weighing on the wider market. 7
