Santos Sells Stake in Northern Territory Oil, Gas Field

Australian oil and gas major Santos has agreed to sell its 50% interest in the Mereenie oil and gas field, including the Mereenie - Alice Springs pipeline, to Macquarie Mereenie, a subsidiary of Macquarie Group, Santos’ joint venture partner Central Petroleum said December 20. The sale will come into effect from January 1, 2017.  

Central holds the other 50% of the Mereenie assets and remains operator. Central assumed operatorship after acquiring a 50% interest from Santos in June 2015.

The Mereenie oil and gas field lies in the Amadeus basin in Northern Territory. Oil and condensate are produced from the field, processed and trucked to Port Bonython for storage prior to export by tanker, normally to refineries in Singapore. Associated gas is currently reinjected into the oil reservoir for pressure maintenance. Gas is sold to MacArthur River Mine and APA Reticulation.

Santos has been looking to sell its non-core assets to reduce debt to become “a low-cost, reliable and high performance business.” It plans to focus on five core, long-life natural gas assets: Cooper Basin, Gladstone LNG project, Papua New Guinea projects, assets in northern Australia and Western Australia gas resources. 

Shardul Sharma