Santos said Tuesday that its recently launched Barossa LNG project and Pikka oil development in Alaska are expected to drive a major increase in free cash flow as the company pivots toward large-scale LNG and oil basins across Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Alaska.
Santos Bets on LNG and Alaska Oil to Drive Cash Flow Surge
Charles Kennedy, OilPrice.Com, May 25, 2026
At its 2026 Investor Briefing Day in Sydney, Santos unveiled a strategy focused on “tier-1 basins,” targeting production growth, lower costs, and increased shareholder payouts as geopolitical instability tightens global LNG and oil markets.
The company said Barossa is already operating at 70%–75% of planned production rates and is targeting full plateau production by mid-2026, with unit production costs below $7 per barrel of oil equivalent. Meanwhile, Alaska’s Pikka Phase 1 project has achieved first oil and is expected to reach a gross production plateau of 80,000 barrels per day in the third quarter of 2026 at costs below $8/boe.
Santos said the two projects mark a “cash flow inflection point,” estimating that every $10 increase in realized oil prices above its free cash flow breakeven level could generate an additional $550 million to $600 million annually once both assets reach plateau production.
CEO Kevin Gallagher said the company intends to focus future investment on LNG and oil production hubs in Alaska and Papua New Guinea while continuing appraisal work in Australia’s Beetaloo and Bedout basins.
State and national lab signs MOU on research, advancing the state and nation’s resource and energy priorities.
Alaska, NLR forge energy-minerals alliance
Shane Lasley, North of 60 Mining News, May 20, 2026
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy May 19 announced that the state has signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) to work more closely together on advancing Alaska as a leader in critical minerals development, energy system innovation, and Arctic infrastructure.
NLR was established as the Solar Energy Research Institute in response to the oil crisis in the 1970s, before being rebranded as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in 1991. Last December, the Colorado-based national lab was rebranded to reflect a wider energy focus.
“The energy crisis we face today is unlike the crisis that gave rise to NREL,” Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson said at the time of the rebranding. “We are no longer picking and choosing energy sources. Our highest priority is to invest in the scientific capabilities that will restore American manufacturing, drive down costs, and help this country meet its soaring energy demand.”
“This new name embraces a broader applied energy mission entrusted to us by the Department of Energy to deliver a more affordable and secure energy future for all,” added NLR Director Jud Virden.
Robertson said Alaska’s unique energy needs, along with its unmatched energy and mineral resources, make the state a top priority for the work the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation does on both fronts.
“Alaska has 95% of critical minerals designated by the Department of the Interior,” she noted during her panel discussion with Gov. Dunleavy.
As major oil companies eye new drilling on Alaska’s North Slope, the Trump administration is now working to accelerate their projects by streamlining environmental reviews on federal land.
New Trump administration proposal aims to accelerate drilling amid Alaska oil industry’s revival
Max Graham, Northern Journal, May 26, 2026
The new proposal was announced May 15 by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on a visit to Alaska.
It would change how regulators review and approve new oil projects in the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska, a federally managed area that’s roughly the size of the state of Indiana and encompasses tundra, wetlands and expansive caribou and bird habitat.
Historically, federal land managers have required companies to go through lengthy environmental reviews each time they propose a new project. The Trump administration now aims to create a blanket environmental approval to expedite projects.
The proposal comes at a time when the Trump administration is under pressure from spiking fuel prices and looking for ways to boost U.S. energy production.
The proposed change comes as the North Slope’s oil industry is picking up steam.
The state’s biggest new oil field in years — located on state and Alaska Native corporation land to the east of the federal petroleum reserve — just started commercial production. Another major project, ConocoPhillips’ Willow development, is set to come online in a few years.
And the industry is poised to expand west: Several of the world’s largest oil corporations, including ConocoPhillips, Shell and ExxonMobil, bid on new territory in the federal reserve in a huge lease sale earlier this yea