North Slope Pikka project, Alaska impact unknown after Santos merger deal dies

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) — The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s $18.7 billion dollar bid to purchase Santos died Thursday after it retracted its bid following weeks in limbo. Santos is the Australia-based oil company that operates the North Slope Pikka Project that is expected to boost the state’s oil economy.

“…the XRG Consortium (led by ADNOC) notified the Santos Board yesterday evening of its decision to withdraw its Indicative Proposal and not proceed with the Potential Transaction,” a statement from Santos published Thursday reads.

The statement also said Santos expressed concern over XRG’s purchase, pointing to delays in agreements, an inability to agree to terms and “would not agree to an appropriate allocation of risk between the XRG Consortium and Santos shareholders under the SIA.”

But before their statement Thursday, the message coming out of Santos was nothing but positivity — with the Santos board saying if a deal was struck, it planned to “unanimously recommend that Santos shareholders vote in favor of the potential transaction, in the absence of a superior proposal.”

There is no superior proposal, though, and now the message coming out of Santos is one of stable direction. And part of that direction is based in Alaska.

“With production set to rise as Barossa and Pikka phase 1 come online, and unit production cost expected to trend lower over time, our strategy is clear,” Santos Chair Keith Spence said in the release. “Generate cash, reward shareholders, reinvest to backfill and sustain our infrastructure, and build and grow our production, while continuing to operate safely and reliably.

“Santos has a clear strategy, strong leadership and high-quality growth opportunities across our global portfolio. The Board is confident these strengths will deliver long-term value for shareholders.”

The optimistic message also came out of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association conference at the end of August. The message from Santos spoke of direct certainty, that they were running full-steam ahead on the Pikka Project — the North Slope oil facility expected to begin production of 80,000 barrels of oil per day in the first quarter of 2026.

“We’re about 91 percent of the way there. A little more than 91 percent,” Pete Laliberte, vice president of business development at Sanots told the conference, according to Alaska Business. “The fact that we’re there has given the confidence of our CEO to announce this week that we’re going to accelerate our target first oil date up to the first quarter of 2026. We originally had a target of midyear next year.”

So, too, did elected officials laud the project with hopeful aims to turn a profit for a state dependent on the ‘liquid gold’ running beneath the surface.

“Just this week, our friends at Santos released incredible projections for 2026, proving that the time is now to develop,” Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, said at the conference.

“We are so excited. Let’s hear it for Santos. They’re doing a great job.”

With the deal’s end, Santos stocks have taken a big hit.

Santos was valued at $5.19 a share when they closed Tuesday but have only plummeted since. The company was valued at $4.75 at Wednesday’s close and has hung around $4.50 for most of Thursday.

During the sale, Alaska’s News Source reached out to Santos Senior Media Manager Samantha Hutchinson monthly asking three questions: could the deal affect Alaska, would it impact the Pikka project and are there aims to interest LNG options within the state.

Weeks ago, those requests were returned with a response saying they could not comment how Alaska will be impacted by the sale until Friday, September 19 — when the four-week extension had to wrap up.

Alaska’s News Source asked again Thursday if the deal’s termination would affect Alaska, but the spokesperson has not yet returned comment.

Alaska’s News Source also reached out for comment from Gov. Mike Dunleavy, but those requests have not been returned.

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