Santos has paid off its project financing debt for the PNG LNG joint venture, fully paying its final repayment of AU$363 million ahead of the scheduled June 2026 payment date.
The debt facility is now fully repaid and the associated loan security is in the process of being discharged and released.
The company said the early and final repayment reduces future interest costs and removes restricted cash requirements on its balance sheet.
It also provides further flexibility to Santos’ existing strong liquidity position of approximately US$5 billion.
Santos now has zero scheduled debt maturities in 2026, enhancing its balance-sheet flexibility ahead of new cash flows expected from its major development projects, Barossa LNG and Pikka phase one.
The company’s next scheduled debt maturity is due in September 2027.
Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher said the early repayment is a historic milestone for Santos and its joint venture partners.
“The ability to secure high-quality, long-term project financing made the development of PNG LNG possible, a nation-building project for Papua New Guinea, that has delivered strong and sustained performance since operations commenced in 2014,” Gallagher said.
“Final payment of the PNG LNG project financing strengthens Santos’ balance sheet at a time when our major development projects enter production.”
The US$19 billion PNG LNG joint venture, of which Santos owns 39.9 per cent, is an integrated development that includes gas production and processing facilities.
Its facilities are connected by over 700 kilometres of onshore and offshore pipeline and include a gas conditioning plant in Hides and a liquefaction and storage facility near Port Moresby.
