Santos has said that it expects increased production this year, with the first cargo from the restarted Darwin LNG (DLNG) plant loading its first shipment and its Pikka oil development in Alaska approaching completion.
The Australian energy company previously predicted its first DLNG cargo from the Barossa field would depart by the end of 2025 but later said repairs to piping systems had slowed progress.
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Barossa gas and the start-up of oil production from Pikka are expected to lift production by up to 30% in 2026.
Santos confirmed the first cargo was being loaded onto the liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker Kool Blizzard and is bound for Sakai in Japan, following successful drilling and testing of six wells in the Barossa gas field.
Pikka phase one is nearing mechanical completion, with commissioning under way and first oil still expected late in the first quarter of 2026 (Q1 2026).
Alongside the operational update, Santos reported Q4 results for the period ended 31 December 2025, with total sales revenue of A$1.23bn, down 12.1% from A$1.4bn in Q4 2024.
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By GlobalDataFree cash flow from operations was approximately A$380m in Q4, up 30% from the prior quarter, and totalled around A$1.8bn for 2025.
Quarterly production rose 5% from the previous quarter to 22.3 million barrels of oil equivalent (mboe), while full-year production totalled 87.7mboe.
Sales volumes increased 15% quarter-on-quarter to 24.8mboe in Q4, taking total sales volumes for the year to 93.5mboe.
By product, LNG sales revenue came in at A$780m in Q4 2025, a 9.1% year-on-year decline from A$858m. Domestic sales gas revenue increased by 5.9% to A$268m from A$253m.
Crude oil revenue fell 61.8% to A$66m from A$173m, while condensate revenue edged down 1.9% to A$101m from A$103m. Liquefied petroleum gas revenue rose by 7.7% to A$14m from A$13m.
Operationally, the company highlighted that in Papua New Guinea, production commenced at the Hides F2 well at an average rate of 60 million standard cubic feet per day.
In Western Australia, domestic gas production increased by around 19% following shutdown execution and project initiatives.
Santos also said it had secured a mid-term LNG supply contract and is progressing preparations for the Beetaloo Basin appraisal programme planned for Q3 2026.
Santos managing director and CEO Kevin Gallagher said: “The fourth quarter lifted free cash flow for the full year to approximately A$1.8bn, a strong result in a year of relatively soft commodity prices for the industry, which demonstrates the value of our focus on margin in our marketing and trading activities.
“The performance of the base business has been a real highlight in 2025, with strong production despite the impact of the biggest floods in the Cooper Basin since the 1970s.”
Last December, Santos agreed to sell its non-core gas assets, including a 42.86% operated stake in the Mahalo joint venture in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, to Comet Ridge, part of its strategy to optimise its portfolio and focus capital on priority growth projects.
