Past year: ▲ 35%(6.17 – 8.62 AUD)
Each one in plain English, with the numbers worked through for a shareholder.
16 Nov 2018regulatory community update▲ Good
The ACCC decided not to oppose Santos' acquisition of Quadrant, finding it unlikely to substantially lessen competition in WA domestic gas. This clears the regulatory approval needed for the US$2.15bn deal announced in August.
12 Nov 2018drilling spud● Neutral
Struan 2, the second Mahalo well, spudded on 9 November and was coring at 395 m, with a planned depth of about 550 m. Struan 3, the first dual lateral well, will intersect it. Santos holds 30% as exploration operator.
5 Nov 2018drilling result▲ Good
Memooloo 2 was drilled to 300 m, intersecting 7.2 m of net coal with good to excellent permeability on short wireline tests, in line with expectations. Production testing of about two months follows; the rig moves to Struan 2. Santos holds 30% as exploration operator.
31 Oct 2018farm in farm out agreement▲ GoodMajor
Santos finished seismic (1,337 line km) in the Southern Amadeus farmout and elected to drill Dukas in EP112 (expected Q1 2019) to earn 70% there, with Central carried. It stays at 40% in EP82, EP105 and EP106. Resolves the earlier open question on lifting its stake.
29 Oct 2018drilling spud● Neutral
Comet Ridge says Memooloo 2, first of the five-well Mahalo program, spudded on 28 October, a day or so ahead of the expected week of 29 October. It targets coals at about 157 m, to a planned depth of about 290 m. Santos holds 30% as exploration operator.
18 Oct 2018quarterly activities report▲ Good
Q3 production rose 6% to 15 mmboe and sales revenue 10% to US$973m, with record LNG revenue of US$405m. Net debt hit the US$2bn target (cash US$1.8bn, debt US$3.8bn), over a year early. Cooper Basin oil up 17%; 85-90 wells expected in 2018.
15 Oct 2018material agreement▲ Good
Real Energy signed binding agreements with Santos and Beach for Moomba gas processing and Mount Howitt tie-in for its Windorah project. They follow the May 2017 MOU and remain conditional on approvals and a final investment decision. Small step for Santos as infrastructure provider.
12 Oct 2018drilling scheduled● Neutral
Comet Ridge expects to spud the next Mahalo evaluation wells the week of 29 October, with the rig arriving the week of 22 October. Struan 3 will be the first dual lateral well. Santos holds 30% as exploration operator. This pushes spud later than the mid-to-late September earlier expected.
26 Sept 2018investor presentation▲ GoodMajor
At its Investor Day Santos targeted production above 100 mmboe by 2025, almost double current levels. Growth is to come from Barossa backfill (FID targeted end-2019), PNG LNG expansion and P'nyang farm-in, onshore Australian growth and the Quadrant acquisition.
11 Sept 2018farm in farm out agreement● Neutral
Kina and Santos amended the PPL 339 farmout: Santos' 20% will now be acquired in two steps, 17.11% first and 2.89% during the first well, with Santos paying A$825,000 for the second piece. Still needs government approvals and a licence extension.
7 Sept 2018asset acquisition disposition▲ GoodMajor
Santos completed the sale of its producing Asian assets (Indonesia Sampang and Madura, Vietnam 12W) to Ophir, receiving US$144m cash from the US$221m price after adjustments. Net debt was about US$2.2bn at 31 August; the US$2bn target is expected by October. Some exploration assets still await approvals.
4 Sept 2018regulatory community update▲ Good
Melbana says the regulator suspended the current permit-year work deadline for WA-488-P to 21 December 2020. The Beehive 3D survey is complete. Total and/or Santos can still take 80% by drilling; Melbana keeps 20%, carried. Beehive best estimate prospective resource is 388 mmboe.
23 Aug 2018half year report▲ GoodMajor
Half-year report: sales revenue US$1,680m (up 16%), underlying profit US$217m (up 99%), net profit US$104m versus a US$506m loss. Net debt US$2.4bn. An interim dividend of US3.5c was declared, the first since 2016. Production fell 5% on the PNG earthquake outage.
23 Aug 2018joint venture update▲ Good
Carnarvon, Quadrant's partner in the Phoenix Project (Dorado), welcomes Santos as incoming partner. It cites Dorado 2C contingent oil of 171 million barrels. Carnarvon notes Santos did not say how much of the US$2.15bn relates to Phoenix.
23 Aug 2018dividend declaration▲ GoodMajor
Santos announced a fully franked US3.5c interim dividend, payable 27 September, its first since 2016, as underlying profit doubled to US$217m. It says the net debt target will be reached shortly, over a year early. Resolves the June dividend-restoration thread.
22 Aug 2018asset acquisition disposition▲ GoodMajor
Santos agreed to buy 100% of Quadrant Energy for US$2.15bn plus possible Bedout Basin (Dorado) contingent payments and a royalty. It adds 220 mmboe of 2P reserves (~26%) and 19 mmboe production, with US$30-50m annual synergies. Completion expected by end-2018, subject to approvals.
22 Aug 2018asset acquisition disposition● Neutral
Wesfarmers agreed to sell its 13.2% indirect stake in Quadrant to Santos for about US$170m net, plus a contingent right tied to the Dorado discovery and a Bedout Basin royalty. This is one of the sellers in Santos' Quadrant purchase; ACCC approval is needed.
17 Aug 2018material agreement▲ Good
PNG LNG partners signed a mid-term LNG deal with BP Singapore: about 0.45 mtpa for three years, rising to about 0.9 mtpa in the last two. Total contracted volume rises to 7.5 mtpa, building on the PetroChina deal. Santos holds 13.5%.
15 Aug 2018contract award▲ Good
Comet Ridge signed Silver City Drilling to drill a five-well program at Mahalo, where Santos holds 30%. Spud is expected mid-to-late September, finishing by November/December 2018. Follows the September drilling plan flagged in June; Comet says it is funded for its share.
13 Aug 2018drilling scheduled▲ Good
A fourth rig, Ensign 965, started in the Cooper Basin and will drill eight wells by year-end. Santos can now drill almost 90 Cooper wells in 2018, the most since 2014. It remains on track to supply about 70 PJ of east coast gas.
9 Aug 2018regulatory community update● Neutral
Melbana says the regulator credited the Beehive 3D seismic survey, now being acquired, against a later work commitment in WA-488-P. Total and Santos fund the survey and hold an option for 80% of the permit. The survey is expected to finish shortly.
8 Aug 2018drilling result▲ GoodMajor
Barikewa-3 in PNG's PRL9 (Santos 40%, Oil Search operator) found 25 metres of net gas pay and flowed 35 mmscf/d on test. The gas is dry with about 20% nitrogen. The well is about 10 km from the PNG LNG pipeline, so it may help future expansion.
20 July 2018material agreement▲ Good
The PNG LNG partners signed a three-year LNG supply deal with PetroChina for about 0.45 mtpa from July 2018, taking contracted volumes to 7.0 mtpa. It replaces spot sales. Santos holds 13.5% of the project.
19 July 2018quarterly activities report▲ Good
June quarter production was 14.2 mmboe, up from 13.8, with Cooper Basin gas up 8% and oil up 17%. Net debt fell to US$2.4bn. The Asian sale and Denison sale are noted, and the Board will consider dividends at half-year results.
28 June 2018dividend declaration▲ GoodMajor
Santos adopted a new dividend policy targeting payouts of 10-30% of free cash flow each year, with possible extra returns. It expects to hit its debt target in the second half of 2018 and may restore dividends at the August half-year result. Ends the dividend suspension.
27 June 2018regulatory community update▼ Bad
Octanex says the Winchester JV (Santos 75% operator) will not seek a retention lease. Santos could not find a commercial development concept within 15 years, so permit WA-323-P expires on 5 July 2018 and the Winchester gas discovery is left undeveloped.
26 June 2018well test result▲ Good
Comet Ridge reports the Mira 6/2 pilot well at Mahalo now flows above 1.4 million scf/d, up from over 840,000 in March. Santos QNT holds 30% of the project. The partners plan a September drilling program.
18 June 2018contract award▲ Good
Three major FEED engineering contracts were awarded for Barossa, in which Santos holds 25%. MODEC and a TechnipFMC/Samsung group will compete on the FPSO design, and INTECSEA won the subsea work. A final investment decision is still targeted for end-2019.
6 June 2018drilling progress report▲ Good
Beach's May report covers Santos-operated Cooper JV wells. Watkins-2, Watkins-3 and Minos-3 oil appraisal wells found oil pay, and Hobgoblin-1 had gas shows. Moomba-224 and Whanto-5 were cased as future producers. A six-well Moomba North campaign started.
23 May 2018regulatory community update▲ Good
The regulator approved the environmental plan for the Beehive 3D seismic survey in WA-488-P. Acquisition is expected to start in July and finish by end-August 2018, fully funded by Total and Santos. Santos operates the survey and holds an option on 80% of the permit.
