Consistent with its Alaska strategy to focus on the Pikka development, Santos announced it will farm-down half of its working interest in 148 exploration leases (more than 270 thousand acres of State of Alaska lands) on the Alaska North Slope in an agreement with APA Alaska LLC(1) and Lagniappe Alaska LLC(2).

The leases are located on the eastern North Slope with multiple prospects in the late Cretaceous Brookian and Schrader Bluff formations. Under the terms of the farm-down agreement, initial activities during the exploration phase will be undertaken without cost to Santos.

Santos acquired the acreage as part of its merger with Oil Search in 2021. The farm-down is subject to customary government approvals.

Santos Managing Director and CEO Kevin Gallagher said he was delighted that Santos has been able to optimise its working interest in its Alaskan acreage in line with the strategy to focus on development of the Pikka project.

“I am pleased we’ve reached this agreement to farm down our exploration assets in Alaska. This transaction demonstrates the continued level of interest in exploration and development projects in the region, a tier one jurisdiction with supportive stakeholders and prospective undeveloped acreage,” Mr Gallagher said.

“We look forward to working with our partners on the North Slope and continuing to build strong relationships together as we continue to develop and optimise our Alaskan business.”

Following execution of the farm down agreement Santos working interest will be 25 percent.

(1) APA Alaska LLC is a subsidiary of APA Corporation
(2) Lagniappe Alaska, LLC is a subsidiary of Armstrong Oil & Gas.

About Santos

Santos is a leading supplier of natural gas, a fuel for the future providing clean energy to improve the lives of people in Australia and Asia.
Santos is already Australia’s biggest domestic gas supplier and aims to be a leading Asia-Pacific LNG supplier. For more than 65 years, Santos has been working in partnership with local communities, providing Australian jobs and business opportunities, safely and sustainably developing Australia’s natural gas resources, and powering Australian industries and households.
With its origins in the Cooper Basin, Santos has one of the largest exploration and production acreages in Australia and extensive infrastructure and is committed to supplying the domestic markets, unlocking resources and driving value and performance.

About APA Corporation

APA Corporation (Nasdaq: APA) owns consolidated subsidiaries that explore for and produce oil and natural gas in the United States, Egypt and the United Kingdom and that explore for oil and natural gas offshore Suriname and in the Dominican Republic.