Australia’s Santos trims 2026 output forecast on Alaska oilfield delays

Oct 22 (Reuters) – Santos narrowed its 2026 production forecast on Thursday after delays due to bad weather and a pipeline disruption at its Pikka oil project in Alaska, even as third-quarter revenue jumped 78%.

Australia’s second-largest independent oil and gas producer now expects production of 99 million to 102 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) in 2026, compared with its previous projection of 99 to 105 mmboe.

Its sales volume forecast was also narrowed to 102 to 105 mmboe, from 102 to 108 mmboe.

Santos said its full-year outlook took a hit due to delays in commissioning a seawater treatment plant at Pikka, output curtailments following a weather event, and a shutdown of the Kuparuk pipeline after a road accident.

The company said the output at Pikka would be held at around 70,000 barrels per day for a short period before ramping up toward 80,000 barrels per day.

    But third-quarter sales revenue rose to $2.01 billion from $1.13 billion a year earlier, matching estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

Santos’ third-quarter production climbed 23% to a record 26.3 mmboe, boosted by its Barossa LNG project in Australia reaching steady production and the ramp-up of output at Pikka. Sales revenue also benefited from higher realised LNG prices and higher sales volumes from Barossa.

(Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee and Kumar Tanishk in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)

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