Santos, Beach Energy approve Moomba Central Optimisation project (updated)

Beach Energy

08/03/2026 22:58

Updates with details on the deal in paragraphs 2-5

March 9 (Reuters) - Australia's Santos STO.AX said on Monday that it and its joint venture partner Beach Energy BPT.AX would proceed with the Moomba Central Optimisation project in the Cooper Basin in South Australia.

Santos said it would invest about $357 million in the project, which is expected to be delivered over three years, adding that the spending is fully budgeted within its all-in free cash flow breakeven target of $45–$50 per barrel.

Santos, Australia's No. 2 oil and gas producer, expects the project to generate more than $600 million in capital and operating cost savings over the life of the Cooper Basin's Central Fields and reduce unit production costs by up to $3 per barrel of oil equivalent.

The company added that the project would replace seven ageing gas-driven compressor stations with a single electric-driven compressor station aimed at easing bottlenecks in upstream infrastructure and enabling future production growth from the Cooper Basin's Central Fields.

Santos
signed
 a deal in mid-February with the South Australian government to supply 20 petajoules of gas annually from its Cooper Basin assets from 2030 to help transform the Whyalla Steelworks into a low-emissions green iron facility.

 (Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Mark Porter)

 ((Roshan.Thomas@thomsonreuters.com;))