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Two entrepreneurial school friends, from Adelaide, Robert Francis ‘Bob’ Bristowe and John Langdon Bonython, decided to pursue their hunches that oil could be found in South Australia. The dream was realised by partnering with a team of geologists led by Reg Sprigg and Helmut Wopfner.
On 18 March 1954, Santos was incorporated, with its name an acronym of South Australia Northern Territory Oil Search. One of the world’s greatest explorers and South Australia’s most eminent geologist, Sir Douglas Mawson, joined the inaugural Santos Board. He was part of the decision to add Northern Territory to the Santos name.
Santos becomes a publicly listed company and is listed on the Adelaide Stock Exchange in South Australia, 1 October 1954.
The first prospectus was released 7 October 1954.
Shares first traded on 7 February 1955.
The gas discovery at Gidgealpa 2 is the first encouraging discovery of natural gas in the Cooper Basin, South Australia.
Moomba gas field is discovered in the Cooper Basin. The scale of the discovery gave Santos the confidence to invest in the pipeline structure to Adelaide, South Australia.
Construction of gas processing facilities at the remote Moomba plant in the Cooper Basin begins, preparing the company to pipe gas to Adelaide, South Australia.
South Australian Premier Steele Hall (pictured) turns the first sod as work begins on the Gidgealpa Moomba to Adelaide natural gas pipeline at Bolivar, Adelaide, South Australia.
The first molecules of natural gas are piped from Moomba and arrive in the Adelaide suburb of Blair Athol, South Australia.
Gas and crude oil discovered at Tirrawarra-1. Until then, popular opinion was that the Cooper Basin would only be a gas resource. It was the first time that oil had flowed to the surface from a well in South Australia.
Construction of the liquids pipeline from Moomba to Stony Point, near Whyalla, South Australia begins. The pipeline allowed Santos to market oil and contributed to the expansion of the company footprint, and the beginning of a major export industry.
Santos begins to develop a major liquids business with the first shipment of liquid hydrocarbons leaving Port Bonython, South Australia bound for the Shell Refinery in Geelong, Victoria becoming the first significant producers of condensate in Australia.
The Government of South Australia officially named the Stony Point port terminal Port Bonython, in honour of John Bonython.
The liquids business officially opened – Australia's largest onshore petroleum development – with the historic first loading of a large export LPG vessel the Genkai Maru bound for Japan.
An ethane treatment plant is opened at Moomba by South Australian Premier Dean Brown promoting the pipeline to New South Wales for petrochemical development.
Bayu-Undan LNG (offshore Timor-Leste), Casino (offshore Victoria, Australia) and Maleo projects (offshore East Java, Indonesia), start production. The first shipment of LNG leaving the Bayu-Undan processing plant in Darwin, was a major milestone for Santos and enabled the company to join international ranks of exploration and production companies worldwide.
Santos' growing exploration and operation led to signing the gas agreement with the Papua New Guinea Government enabling the PNG LNG project to develop.
Gladstone LNG (GLNG) goes online with first LNG production and first shipment of LNG leaving Curtis Island, Queensland and delivered to South Korea – partly supplied with Santos’ Cooper Basin gas, GLNG opens an export channel for central Australian gas.
Discovery of high-quality hydrocarbons at Dorado, offshore Western Australia. The discovery is the third biggest oil field in the greater North-West Shelf.
Santos completes acquisition of the Quadrant Energy business and becomes the largest domestic gas supplier in Western Australia.
Santos completes acquisition of ConocoPhillips’ business in Northern Australia and Timor-Leste, securing Darwin as a key asset of our future operating business in the Northern Territory.
Following a successful trial in 2020, Santos announces a final investment decision on its Moomba carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. This is one of three planned CCS hubs across Santos’ operations.
Santos announces plans for its first carbon capture and storage project
Santos completes merger with Oil Search Limited, combining two industry leaders and enhancing the company’s growth portfolio and Papua New Guinea operating business. Through the merger, Santos also gains its first North American project in Pikka, located on the North Slope of Alaska.
Santos announces the successful start-up of the Moomba CCS (phase one) project with commissioning complete and successful storage of CO2 in depleted gas reservoirs in the Cooper Basin.
Santos announced two new non‑binding LNG agreements that reinforce its expanding global LNG portfolio and its position as a leading supplier of secure, flexible energy across the Asia‑Pacific. The deals, which include a 10‑year supply contract with POSCO Steel Co Ltd, align with the company’s strategy to maximise revenue through portfolio optimisation and complement existing commitments.
Santos Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Gallagher delivered a speech at the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra on 9 September 2026.
Santos announced the spudding of its first appraisal well in the Beetaloo Basin, marking a milestone toward unlocking a new source of long‑term gas supply for Australian households, businesses and industry. The drilling commenced after the Northern Territory Minister for Lands, Planning and Environment approved Santos’ Environmental Management Plan in May 2026, authorising the appraisal program. The drill bit broke ground on Friday morning, with the territory‑based contractor Exact Contracting leading the operation.
Santos has signed a binding agreement to acquire an additional 3.3% participating interest in the Papua LNG project from TotalEnergies, subject to regulatory approvals and the final investment decision. The deal is valued at approximately US$189 million.
Santos has begun seawater injection at the Nanushuk Drillsite‑B of its Pikka oil project, with water export starting on 18 August and injection into the reservoir commencing on 26 August. The company reports successful milestone testing and is currently injecting around 40,000 barrels per day. Seawater injection provides pressure support to the reservoir, a key factor in advancing the project toward plateau production.
GLNG, along with its partners TotalEnergies, PETRONAS and KOGAS, has entered into binding agreements to acquire 100% of the Greater Meridian CSG project in Queensland. Santos has secured a 30% stake in the project for approximately US$85‑90 million. The company has also completed the sale of its interest in the Mahalo joint venture, valued at around US$23‑44 million.
Santos Limited reported strong operating performance for the first half of 2026, achieving its best personal safety record with no lost‑time injuries and no Tier 1 process safety incidents. Production rose 3% to 45.6 mmboe, sales revenue reached $2.6 billion, EBITDAX was $1.6 billion, and net profit after tax was $355 million. The company generated $378 million in free cash flow and declared an interim dividend of US $11.6 cents per share, totaling $377 million.
Santos successfully loaded 450,000 barrels of Alaska North Slope crude from the Pikka Phase 1 development onto the Polar Resolution at Valdez Marine Terminal, destined for the U.S. West Coast refining system. The project is currently producing about 23,000 barrels per day and aims for a plateau of 80,000 barrels per day by Q3 2026. Kevin Gallagher, MD and CEO, commented on the milestone.
Santos and PRISM Energy International Australia jointly marketed, sold and loaded the first condensate cargo from the Barossa gas project. Approximately 300,000 barrels were loaded from the BW Opal FPSO on 24 July 2026 aboard the tanker Boccadesse for delivery to SK Incheon Petrochem in South Korea.
Barossa is producing at 97% of planned rates, with two project cargoes loaded during the quarter and cargoes currently departing approximately every eight days. Pikka phase 1 is progressing toward plateau, with initial production wells delivering approximately 23,000 bbl/day gross; plateau production of approximately 80,000 bbl/day is targeted for the third quarter of 2026, with first sales revenue expected in August.