Strong financial and operating performance
Sales revenue of more than US$1.4 billion in the fourth quarter, and US$5.4 billion for the full year.
Strong fourth quarter free cash flow from operations of ~US$430 million, and $1.9 billion for the full year. Free cash flow breakeven price of less than $33.50/bbl for the full year unhedged.
Production of 21.5 mmboe for the fourth quarter, and 87.1 mmboe for the full year.
Completed sale of 2.6 per cent interest in PNG LNG to Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (Kumul). Final payment of US$241 million received, Santos total cash consideration of US$602 million.
Gearing at ~20.8 per cent at 31 December 2024, excluding operating leases (~24.0 per cent when included).
Angore commissioning and clean-up activities completed, both wells online and performing in line with expectations with production into PNG LNG.
Halyard-2 infill well drilled, completed and tested, with preliminary results indicating recoverable gas volume approximately 20 per cent above expectation1.
Executed long-term LNG Supply and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Shizuoka Gas Co. Ltd for supply delivered ex-ship of between 0.35 and 0.4 million tonnes per annum of LNG at plateau over twelve years,
commencing in 2032.
Executed mid-term LNG supply contract with TotalEnergies Gas & Power Asia Private Limited (TotalEnergies) to supply 20 LNG cargoes, or up to approximately 0.5 million tonnes of LNG per annum on a delivered ex-ship basis over three years plus one month, commencing in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Darwin LNG joint venture (43.43 per cent owned and operated by Santos, equity accounted) closed new syndicated bank loan facilities totaling US$800 million.
Completed decommissioning four of 11 wells across the Mutineer, Exeter, Fletcher and Finucane fields. Contract awarded for the removal of the Harriet Alpha platform offshore Western Australia.
Moomba CCS phase one fully operational
Moomba Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project ramped up throughout October, reaching full nameplate injection rate within the month.
Facility injected and stored almost 340,000 tonnes (gross) of CO2e in the fourth quarter with technology and reservoir performance in line with expectations.
Santos and Japanese utility Chubu Electric Power (“Chubu”) signed an MOU in October 2024 to assess the feasibility of transporting CO2 from the proposed Nagoya CO2 aggregation hub to Moomba for permanent storage as part of a future expansion project. The MOU also covers other potential areas of collaboration on decarbonisation.
Development projects advancing towards completion
Barossa Gas project is 88.3 per cent complete and remains on track for first production in the third quarter of 2025 within current cost guidance.
Final drilling activities were completed on the second and third wells of the six-well drill program, with strong flow test results and reservoir performance as expected.
The fourth well was partially drilled and suspended for return in 2025 and the fifth well in the program
was spudded.
The Darwin pipeline duplication is 71.4 per cent complete with the beach pull to Darwin LNG completed successfully and over 30km of pipeline installed.
The Pikka phase one project is 74 per cent complete. Second winter season pipelay activities commenced in December. Fifteen wells have now been drilled, with 11 development wells stimulated and 10 flowed back. Results are in line with pre-drill expectations.
Santos Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Gallagher said the strong underlying business performance, combined with a disciplined focus on operational excellence, delivered another strong quarter of production and cash flow to finish 2024.
“The fourth quarter brought free cash flow for the full year to US$1.9 billion which positions the company well to deliver shareholder returns, backfill and sustain our existing business, complete our major projects, Barossa and Pikka, and progress our decarbonisation plans”, Mr Gallagher said.
“We celebrated a successful completion and ramp-up of our Moomba CCS project. We achieved full injection rates and stable operation quicker than expected, and it continues to perform in line with expectations. At year end it had already stored almost 340,000 tonnes (gross) of CO2-equivalent. At full injection rates Moomba CCS avoids more emissions every four days than 10,000 electric cars avoid in one year[1][2].
“This is a game changer for the technology and a game changer for Santos, with Moomba providing a real injection of confidence that CCS works and can deliver on its promise of large-scale, cost-competitive emissions reduction.
“Our operational focus for 2025 will be to deliver our Barossa and Pikka projects within cost and schedule guidance. I am very pleased that we are making excellent progress towards first gas at Barossa in the third quarter of this year and first oil at Pikka in Alaska in 2026. The Barossa Gas Project is almost 90 per cent complete and advancing to its final stages. The Pikka project is almost 75 per cent complete, with the second winter season pipelay activities underway and strong progress achieved to date. For both projects, well results are in line with pre-drill expectations.
“While our focus remains on delivering Barossa and Pikka, which will set us up with strong, stable long-term production, Santos has a suite of high-quality development options for the future, including Dorado and the Bedout Basin, Narrabri, the Beetaloo Basin, PNG and Alaska’s North Slope. These options will be progressed in accordance with our disciplined capital allocation framework, at the right time to backfill and expand production, and in a way that delivers maximum value for shareholders.
“Demand for LNG from our portfolio of world class LNG assets located close to Asian markets remains robust, which strategically positions Santos to supply lower cost, lower carbon LNG to the Asia Pacific region out to at least 2040.
“Santos continues to expand its LNG production capacity to meet strong customer demand, with volumes set to increase significantly once Barossa is online in 2025.
“2024 was a very successful year for our LNG business with four new long and mid-term LNG contracts and four mid-term price reviews closed out. In the fourth quarter we signed a long-term LNG SPA with Shizuoka Gas Co. Ltd and a mid-term LNG SPA with TotalEnergies. These SPA’s with tier one customers further build Santos’ equity LNG portfolio and reflect the high value placed on energy security by customers in Asia. Further, across our entire LNG sales portfolio we saw strong realised LNG prices in the quarter, equivalent to an average slope to Brent oil of over 15 per cent, which is an excellent result.
“I am very pleased with the execution of our contracting strategy throughout 2024, with high-quality counterparties, priced at a level that appropriately recognises the high heating value of much of Santos’ LNG portfolio.
“In 2025 we will continue to focus on safety, delivering our development projects, decarbonising our operations and building a commercial carbon management services business, as well as becoming a leaner and more efficient organisation,” Mr Gallagher said.
[1] Approximate 20% uplift from the Halyard 2 pre-drill 2P reserve estimate to approximately 9 mmboe sales gas and condensate, determined using deterministic methods based on drilling results and flowback information.
[2] Emissions saved by switching from ICE passenger vehicles to EVs. Calculated per statistics for emissions intensity (DCCEEW – National Greenhouse Account Factors 2024), distance travelled per year (ABS – Survey Motor Vehicle Use Australia 2020) and the average watts an EV uses per km from the electric vehicle database. Assumes EVs are charged from SA grid. ICE emissions based on blended light and heavy passenger vehicle emissions factors.