Photo: Santos Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Gallagher. Photo credit: Attila Csaszar
Santos Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Gallagher said Santos delivered record annual production and sales revenue in 2022, as strong base business performance positioned the company to benefit from higher commodity prices.
Free cash flow of around US$3.6 billion was also a record and reduced gearing to approximately 18.7 per cent at the end of the year. This strong free cash flow positions the company to provide higher returns to shareholders and in December, we announced a further US$350 million increase in the on-market share buyback to up to US$700 million.
“Our increased LNG position in Papua New Guinea following the Oil Search merger has driven our record performance. The LNG business is expected to remain strong with energy security being a top priority for our trading partners in the region,” Mr Gallagher said.
“We remain committed to supplying the domestic market at reasonable prices. Average realised price for east coast domestic gas for the quarter was US$7.74/GJ, less than half the average realised price for LNG.
“Given the strong customer demand for our product now and into the future, we will seek to backfill and sustain our core assets to deliver the critical fuels the world needs into the 2040s. But we will also seek to decarbonise these critical fuels, in-line with our emissions reductions targets, and produce clean fuels as customer demand evolves.”
Official press release can be found HERE
