SYDNEY, June 25, 2026, 09:05 (AEST)
- Santos ended Wednesday at A$7.24, losing 0.96%. The ASX cash market was in pre-open.
- Pikka Phase 1 is pumping around 20,000 barrels a day right now. The project aims for 80,000 barrels a day in the third quarter.
- Santos’ 51% stake at plateau is about 14.9 million barrels a year. That’s 13.4%-14.7% of its 2026 group production guidance.
- Brent dropped US$3.34 to settle at US$73.74. If Pikka’s realised price had moved the same way, annual gross sales value at plateau would shift by roughly US$50 million.
Santos shares will open Thursday after hitting a fresh production mark and seeing lower oil prices. The stock dropped A$0.07 on Wednesday, moving in a range from A$7.16 to A$7.38. Trading volume was 10.79 million shares.
The S&P/ASX 200 finished up 0.24% at 8,808.4. Santos trailed the index by 1.20 percentage points. Energy names and miners traded weaker than other sectors.
Santos said Pikka’s first wells are delivering about 20,000 barrels a day gross. Seawater injection is set to begin in the next few weeks, and more production wells are coming. “The first production wells are now online and delivering continuous production,” CEO Kevin Gallagher said. World Oil
Santos holds a 51% stake in the Alaska project, putting its current equity at about 10,200 barrels a day. If the site reaches the planned gross peak of 80,000 barrels a day, Santos’ share would jump to 40,800 barrels per day.
The plateau rate annualises to 14.9 million barrels for Santos. That’s about 13.4% to 14.7% of the company’s 2026 production guidance, which is set at 101 million to 111 million barrels of oil equivalent. This is a run rate and isn’t a forecast for Pikka’s actual 2026 output, since the plateau is targeted for the third quarter.
Santos has given back its gains from May. Shares ended Wednesday 12.1% under the A$8.24 peak set on May 22. The stock is still up 18.3% for the year. The drop narrows any cushion against a slow Pikka ramp or weaker oil prices.
Brent crude closed down 4.3% at US$73.74 a barrel, the lowest since before the Iran war. Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said Iranian production and exports could rise “weeks rather than months” after any sanctions relief. Reuters
At Santos’ steady net rate, a US$1 per barrel swing in realised oil lifts or cuts annual gross sales by around US$14.9 million. For Pikka, if its price dropped in line with Brent’s US$3.34 slide on Wednesday, that would shift the annual figure by roughly US$49.7 million before royalties, transport, hedges, or opex. Using today’s production, the impact would come in near US$12.4 million.
Santos’ debt target ties back to its price exposure. The company wants to cut net debt by around US$2.5 billion by 2030 and lower yearly interest costs by about US$150 million. Mark Gardner, CEO at MPC Markets, described the move as “a disciplined reset” in May. Reuters
Pikka is still on track to post its first sales revenue in the third quarter, with partners swapping cargoes as planned. Next up, operating tests will kick off for seawater injection, and the focus will turn to how fast more wells push output toward the 80,000 barrel goal.
