SYDNEY, June 30, 2026, 09:03 AEST
- Santos signed a 200 PJ gas deal in South Australia, planning to start supply from Moomba in 2030.
- Santos finished Monday at A$7.15. That’s about 12% under the A$8.12 high it hit after the May Pikka first-oil update.
- ASX 200 futures inched up 3 points, or 0.03%, ahead of the open. Brent ended Monday at $73.15 a barrel.
Santos Limited ASX:STO heads into Tuesday’s ASX trade with a fresh domestic gas deal, but the main story is the contract’s effect on Cooper Basin cost life, not immediate earnings.
The stock hadn’t changed hands yet as of the dateline. The Australian Securities Exchange trades out of Sydney, open weekdays from 9:59 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. AEST. ASX is not scheduled to close on June 30 in 2026, according to its holiday calendar.
Santos finished Monday at A$7.15, adding 0.14%, Market Index said. Google Finance listed the market cap at A$23.22 billion. The stock traded between A$7.08 and A$7.17 during the day, with a 52-week range from A$5.90 to A$8.24.
Santos said Monday it’s signed a gas sale deal with the South Australian government to deliver 200 petajoules over a decade starting March 1, 2030. Gas will come from Moomba for the state’s Strategic Gas Reserve. Reuters said a prepayment will help pay for the Moomba Central Optimisation project.
| Santos contract item | Figure | Market read |
|---|---|---|
| Total contracted gas | 200 PJ | Lock on domestic sales past 2029 |
| Annual supply | 20 PJ | About 30% of Cooper Basin flow, per Santos in February |
| Start date | March 1, 2030 | No volume delivered until after 2029 |
| End date | 2040 | Outlet for reserves over a decade |
| Pricing | Not disclosed | Market can’t price in deal yet |
The missing price is key here. Back in February, Santos put the 20 PJ annual deal at around 30% of current Cooper Basin gas production. That suggests this contract covers a big chunk of the basin’s output. But without knowing the indexation, margin or prepayment size, the market can’t value the deal.
The real focus is the cost project beneath this. Santos and Beach Energy Ltd ASX:BPT gave the green light to Moomba Central Optimisation in March. Santos put its investment at about $357 million over three years. The company expects to see more than $600 million in capital and operating savings through the life of the Cooper Basin Central Fields, and says unit production costs could drop by as much as $3 per barrel of oil equivalent. That savings target comes to roughly 1.7 times what Santos plans to put in.
| Cooper Basin item | Santos data | Investor test |
|---|---|---|
| Santos MCO investment | Spending about $357 mln | Risk on both project budget and delivery |
| Target savings | Company aims for over $600 mln | Need to see this in lower unit costs |
| Unit cost reduction | Could take up to $3/boe off | Protects margin if gas prices dip |
| Compression change | 7 old compression stations swapped for 1 new electric station | Better reliability, also tests for choke-points |
Santos is still trading under its post-May highs after it announced first oil at Pikka in Alaska. Shares jumped up to 3.1% at A$8.12 that day. Craig Sidney, senior investment adviser at Shaw and Partners, called the production boost “meaningful and significantly positive” in comments to Reuters. Reuters
Pikka is now the main short-term driver. Santos said last week that it started steady output at Pikka Phase 1, with initial wells putting out about 20,000 barrels per day gross. The company is aiming to hit plateau production of around 80,000 bpd in the third quarter, a four times jump from the current continuous rate.
| Price or operating marker | Level | Gap from Monday close or current rate |
|---|---|---|
| Santos Monday close | A$7.15 | — |
| May Pikka reaction level | A$8.12 | -12.0% |
| 52-week high | A$8.24 | -13.2% |
| 52-week low | A$5.90 | +21.2% |
| Pikka current gross output | ~20,000 bpd | — |
| Pikka Q3 plateau target | ~80,000 bpd | 4.0x current gross output |
Oil hasn’t been much help for the stock lately. Brent crude rose 1.61% to finish at $73.15 a barrel Monday, but Reuters noted it dropped 10.6% last week. Trading Economics shows Brent down roughly 23.8% for the month.
Santos sits with a mixed pitch to investors: Pikka and Barossa are set to push up output, while the Moomba asset is meant to lower costs per unit and lock in domestic demand. Back in January, Santos said Barossa LNG and Pikka Phase 1 would drive production higher by about 25% to 30% by 2027 when stacked against 2024. Citi’s Tom Wallington wrote at the time that seeing a Barossa cargo loaded could “allay investor concerns” over the commissioning process. Reuters
Santos’ next quarterly report is listed for July 16, according to Market Index, with interim results expected Aug. 24.
