Santos CEO says construction at large Alaska oil field is nearly 60% complete

One of Alaska’s largest oil field projects is nearly 60% constructed and will begin producing oil within two years, the head of Santos told a conference room of industry representatives in Anchorage on Thursday.

“By the first half of 2026 we’ll be on our way to sending an additional 80,000 barrels down TAPS (daily),” said Kevin Gallagher, chief executive for the Australia-based oil and gas producer, referring to the 800-mile trans-Alaska pipeline.

Gallagher spoke during a prerecorded presentation at the Alaska Oil and Gas Association’s annual conference.

Gallagher said workers at the $2.6 billion Pikka project have built more than 40 miles of pipeline and installed thousands of support structures to elevate the pipeline above the tundra.

The company has also completed civil work for a seawater treatment plant, he said.

The project employed 2,200 people over the last construction season, he said.

Pikka is located on state land east of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The project will contribute nearly $7 billion in revenue to the state and North Slope stakeholders, he said.

Pikka is one of two major oil projects in development on the North Slope.

The other, ConocoPhillips’ Willow project in the petroleum reserve, was approved by the Biden administration last year. Oil production is expected to begin there in 2029, peaking at 180,000 barrels daily.

The fields will boost oil flow in the trans-Alaska pipeline, which has fallen about 75% from its peak in the late 1980s to less than 500,000 barrels daily today.

Gallagher said Santos this summer moved its Alaska headquarters, with 225 people, to downtown offices in the newly redesigned former Key Bank Plaza building.

He said 95% of Santos’ employees in North America live in Alaska.

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“We focus on sourcing contracts locally along with provisions that account for union hire,” he said.

Santos is taking “great care to minimize carbon emissions” at Pikka, he said.

The project will use electricity to power many facilities at Pikka, including the drilling rig, he said.

He said Santos is committed to making the project “net-zero” for emissions, referring to the operations of the field. Santos has entered into memorandums of understanding with Alaska Native corporations to deliver carbon offset projects, and has called for capturing emissions from oil field activity and injecting the carbon dioxide underground to help combat climate change.

The company believes a “net-zero” project will be a first for an Alaska oil field, he said.