SYDNEY, June 9, 2026, 21:01 AEST
- Santos rose 0.64% to A$7.87 but the S&P/ASX 200 finished in the red.
- Oil slipped after Monday’s run-up, though Brent still traded above $90 a barrel.
- Investors keep trading the Pikka and Barossa ramp-up, but there’s no new company filing out today.
Santos Limited shares traded higher Tuesday while the broader Australian market slipped. Investors stuck with the oil-and-gas name and its growth narrative, shrugging off a slight pullback in crude prices after gains the day before.
The stock closed up 0.64% at A$7.87. It moved in a range of A$7.84 to A$7.99. Market value was about A$25.6 billion based on delayed data published after the close.
ASX trading resumed in the first session after the King’s Birthday holiday, with the exchange closed Monday. At the time, the ASX cash market was not open. Regular trading finishes at 16:00 Sydney, with the closing auction soon after 16:10.
Santos shares climbed even as the wider market struggled. The S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.24% by the end of trade in Sydney, pulled lower by losses in gold, metals and mining, and materials names.
Santos traded between opposing drivers Tuesday. Oil prices are still strong enough to back up its earnings hopes, but crude slipped after Iran and Israel each said they stopped attacks. Brent crude dropped 1.6% to $92.70 a barrel by 1012 GMT. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate lost 2.1% to $89.37, according to Reuters.
Santos did not put out a new operating update today. Market data still lists the company’s May investor day and the May 18 news on first oil at Pikka, Alaska, as the latest announcements.
Pikka is still the main clean play for the bull case. Santos said in May it hit first oil at Pikka Phase 1, targeting a gross plateau of 80,000 barrels per day in the third quarter of 2026. Santos holds 51% and runs the project. Repsol owns the other 49%.
Craig Sidney, senior investment adviser at Shaw and Partners, said the Pikka update was “a positive announcement” with solid oil prices and a better production outlook. Repsol CEO Josu Jon Imaz said the project was “starting to pay off.” That partner view is part of why the asset is in focus now. Reuters
Barossa is the other part, supplying gas to Darwin LNG. LNG stands for liquefied natural gas, which is gas cooled and turned into liquid so it can be transported by ship. In April, Santos (ASX: STO) held its 2026 production and sales estimates at 101 million to 111 million barrels of oil equivalent. That’s despite missing its first-quarter numbers and having a short outage at Barossa.
Santos got a boost from “supportive oil price moves,” Saul Kavonic at MST Marquee said, with the market “looking through” its revenue miss to Barossa and Pikka coming online. That’s still the setup: less hype, market wants more evidence. Reuters
Santos ended up nearer the leaders in Australia’s oil-and-gas sector as peers diverged. Woodside Energy gained 0.58% at A$31.09. Beach Energy lost 1.38% to A$1.075.
Risks are clear here. If Brent loses more ground, the oil price support analysts often cite could fade. Any hitch in getting Barossa up to speed or a delay in first sales from Pikka may raise concerns over how fast Santos can convert new output into cash flow. Shares rose Tuesday, but that move alone doesn’t settle the discussion.
