Santos Lowers Top End of Output Guidance Following Pikka Disruptions

By David Winning

SYDNEY--Santos downgraded the top end of its annual production guidance after experiencing separate disruptions at its Pikka oil project in Alaska during the three months through September.

Santos on Thursday said it now expects to produce between 99 million and 102 million barrels of oil equivalent in the 12 months through December. That marked a cut from prior guidance of up to 105 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Santos said a weather event affected the commissioning of the Seawater Treatment Plant at the Pikka project, curtailing production temporarily. It also had to halt output for a short time when the operator of the Kuparuk pipeline shut it down following a road accident.

"Production is now planned to be curtailed for a short period of time while water injection replenishes reservoir voidage before ramping up to 80,000 barrels of oil per day," on a gross basis, Chief Executive Kevin Gallagher said of the Pikka project. "This is a deliberate decision, and part of our disciplined approach to reservoir management."

Across all of its operations, Santos produced 26.3 million barrels of oil equivalent in the third quarter of the 2026 fiscal year. That was a record for any quarter and almost 14% above what it produced in the second quarter.

Quarterly sales volumes rose by 11% to 26.4 million barrels of oil equivalent, supported by its new Barossa natural-gas project offshore Australia and the Pikka operation. This contributed to sales revenue jumping 49% on quarter to US$2.01 billion.

"That is the growth we said would follow as Barossa and Pikka came online," Gallagher said. "The inflection point is here, and I expect more to come in the fourth quarter as Barossa continues its journey to high reliability and Pikka gets a full quarter online."

Write to David Winning at david.winning@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 21, 2026 19:00 ET (23:00 GMT)