Santos Reaches Continuous Production at Pikka on Alaska's North Slope

Santos Ltd has reached continuous production at the Pikka oil development on Alaska's North Slope, with first production wells delivering 20,000 barrels per day gross, the company said Tuesday according to Rigzone.

The field started up earlier this year, and Phase 1 brings about 400 million barrels of gross 2P reserves into production, according to Rigzone. A further 600 million barrels of gross 2C resource underpins staged development beyond the first phase in the Pikka Unit.

On a net basis, Santos' share of reserves and contingent resources at Pikka stood at 164 MMbbl of 2P reserves and 252 MMbbl of 2C resources as of year-end 2025, according to World Oil. Those figures represent the company's economic stake against the gross Phase 1 and staged-development volumes.

Santos Chief Executive Kevin Gallagher said Pikka is a low-cost oil development with strong economics and long reserves life, according to World Oil.

The 20,000 barrels per day gross rate reflects the output of the first production wells rather than the full development. The 400 million barrels of gross 2P reserves in Phase 1 set the near-term base, while the 600 million barrels of gross 2C resource are held for later phases in the Pikka Unit.