Australian independent Santos’ 80,000 b/d Pikka oil field in Alaska’s North Slope region is now 91pc complete and will come on line in January-March 2026, the company said, ahead of the initial January-June target.
The company has completed pipeline installation during its second winter program and drilled 21 wells with results in line with expectations, Santos said in its half-year results to 30 June released on 25 August. Santos in April announced the pipelay had been completed one year ahead of schedule.
The 51pc-owned Pikka project is Santos’ first in the US state of Alaska. Spanish energy firm Repsol owns the remaining 49pc.
Santos is also on track for first gas from the Barossa project located in Australia’s Timor Sea in the July-September quarter, backfilling its operated 3.7mn t/yr Darwin LNG terminal.
Sanots’ profit was 22pc lower on the year in the first half of 2025 because gas prices weighed on revenues (see table). Product sales were down by 5pc on the year.
The firm in July reduced its 2025 guidance to 246,600-260,300 b/d of oil equivalent (boe) from 246,600-265,800 boe/d due to flooding in the onshore Cooper basin of South Australia.
Santos’ output was 44.1mn boe (244,000 boe/d) for the six months to 30 June, up slightly from 44mn boe (242,000 boe/d) a year earlier.
Unit production cost guidance for 2025 narrowed to $7-7.40/boe from $7-7.50/boe.
| 1H 2025 | 1H 2024 | y-o-y % ± | |
| Total product sales | 2,579 | 2,711 | -5 |
| Gas, ethane, LNG sales | 2,170 | 2,222 | -2 |
| Underlying profit | 508 | 654 | -22 |
| Unit production cost ($/boe) | 7 | 8 | -8 |