Sydney, June 22, 2026, 06:05 AEST
- Santos closed at A$7.30 on Friday, losing 9.5% over the week. The S&P/ASX 200 rose around 0.3%.
- Iran’s latest warning that it might keep the Strait of Hormuz closed, depending on certain triggers, threatens to undo some of last week’s oil-driven drop.
- Santos isn’t set to release an operating report this week, with the next update for the second quarter scheduled July 23.
Santos shares are in the spotlight ahead of the open Monday with oil risk returning after Iran claimed the Strait of Hormuz was closed again and U.S. President Donald Trump warned of more strikes. The stock ended last at A$7.30, before these weekend headlines. The ASX cash market is still closed.
Timing is key. Roughly 20% of global oil and LNG goes through Hormuz. Shipping started picking up again late last week, but it’s still running below where it was before the conflict. Iran was asking for transit permits.
Brent crude pared losses in U.S. trading Friday, quoted at $80.38 a barrel, but it’s still off about 8% for the week. Rory Johnston, who runs Commodity Context, said the market was looking for “pretty seamless execution” from the peace deal. “That doesn’t seem to be what we’re getting thus far,” he said. Reuters
Santos shares slid to A$7.30 on Friday, dropping from A$8.07 on June 12. Most of the losses hit Monday, with the stock closing at A$7.39 as markets factored in less risk to crude supplies. The main Australian index gained ground for the week. That split suggests commodity prices, not a broad slump across local equities, drove Santos lower.
Peers traded lower too. Woodside Energy fell around 7% for the week, Beach Energy was down close to 10% between June 12 and June 19. Santos ended up in the middle. Investors seemed to be trimming positions in Australian oil and gas names.
Not much company news came out to blunt the slide. The only announcement from Santos last week was the naming of Kate Vidgen as an independent non-executive director, starting June 17.
Santos is still pinning its investment case on the Barossa gas project and the just-launched Pikka oil project in Alaska. The company kept its 2026 production target at 101 million to 111 million barrels of oil equivalent. Output in the first quarter came in below what the market wanted, but Saul Kavonic, energy research head at MST Marquee, said investors mostly focused on the start for the two new projects.
Santos wants to cut net debt by $2.5 billion by 2030, management said, aiming to get borrowings minus cash down while trimming spending in areas of the Cooper Basin. “A disciplined reset from Santos and the right move,” said Mark Gardner, chief executive at MPC Markets. Reuters
Santos could get hit if Hormuz stays open and more supply comes back. That would send crude down, cut the realised prices Santos gets, and drag on debt reduction. Citi sees Brent at $75 for the third quarter and $70 in the fourth. But if fighting starts again or ships can’t get through for longer, the market could stay tight.
Oil futures and confirmed ship flows through Hormuz are expected to guide the initial move. Santos isn’t set to deliver a trading update until July 23, so unless it puts out unexpected news, the stock is likely to keep following oil prices over the week.
