The week in review
It's been a big week for Santos, the Adelaide based gas producer which it seems is an endless fountain of stories.
Whether it's winning a legal battle against objections to its gas plans or having their CFO resign in an unexpected flurry, there's always something to watch at the Kevin Gallagher helmed business.
And this week was no exception.
Top of the pile was no doubt the firm's full year results, released on Wednesday.
Admittedly not the most glowing of results with 2025 net profit coming out at US$818m (down from 2024's $1201m).
But what stole the limelight in terms of headlines was the 10% jobs cut across the company, described by Gallagher as needed to "right-size" the business after delivering on growth projects including the successful execution of Moomba CCS phase 1, Barossa LNG and the Darwin LNG life extension.
These job cuts were juxtaposed with the news that Gallagher had been awarded 90% of a controversial $6 million growth bonus granted in 2021.
Never a good look.
However, all this came just the day after Santos had what they would definitely see as a win.
On Tuesday a Sydney federal court dismissed a four-year-old case in which it had been alleged Santos had made misleading statements about its clean energy capabilities.
According to the applicants – the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) – the case was a world first as the shareholder activist group challenged the veracity of the Adelaide gas giant's net zero emissions pathway.
But on Tuesday Justice Brigitte Markovic dismissed the case and ordered the ACCR to pay Santos' costs, adding that the reasons for her decision would be released in due course.
Unsurprisingly Santos welcomed the verdict, saying in a statement that it is "committed to transparent, accurate and compliant reporting."
They also referenced how at their 2025 AGM last year, more than 85% voted in support of their Climate Transition Action Plan.
This show of support was somewhat lacking the day before in a report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) environmental think tank.
In a fresh challenge to Santos' aspirations, the IEEFA released research which questioned the economic case for the Narrabri gas project, saying there are faster and cheaper alternatives, including transporting gas from Queensland's established reserves.
While Santos is busy facing down legal challenges and opposition from local communities and environmental groups to Narrabri, the IEEFA report is yet more for them to contend with.
Finally, and bringing us up to date, comes news today that Santos has agreed key terms with South Australian Government to provide 200PJ of gas from Moomba over 10 years from 2030 to support the transformation of the Whyalla Steelworks into a low-emissions green iron facility, subject to certain conditions.
Gallagher said the agreement would secure jobs in Adelaide and the Cooper Basin for at least the next 15 years.
"Santos gas will be used to enable Whyalla to deploy direct reduced iron technology that can process local magnetite ore to produce low-carbon iron. This will keep jobs in Whyalla and the Cooper Basin, and reduce emissions by approximately 50 per cent compared to the former coal-fired blast furnace operations.
"We've been a gas supplier to Whyalla for many years and we are pleased to be working with the South Australian government on its green steel vision for a future made in Australia," he said.
Oh, and if all that wasn't enough, it seems XRG - the ADNOC-led consortium which last year expressed serious interest in taking over Santos - is now back in Australia taking a good hard look at Shell's one sixth stake in the North West Shelf.
Never a dull moment in Radelaide, eh?
Yours,
Russell Yeo
Editor Energy News Bulletin
To get the best analysis and insight of what's happening in APAC's energy sector, sign up for a free trial.
