Santos signs long-term gas supply deal for Whyalla Steelworks

Australia

ADELAIDE, February 20, 2026 – Santos has signed a binding term sheet with the Government of South Australia to supply 200 PJ of gas over 10 years to the Whyalla Steelworks, Santos announced on Friday.

Under the terms of the agreement, Santos will deliver 20 PJ per year for 10 years starting on March 1, 2030. Volumes will be delivered from the Moomba Central Area gasfield development in South Australia’s Cooper Basin, and will be subject to indexed pricing.

Whyalla Steelworks is an integrated mining and steelmaking operation that produces about 1.2 million tonnes per year of raw steel, which is then processed at the Whyalla Rolling Mill into finished products, primarily for the construction and rail industries. The supply deal will support the conversion of the steelworks into a low-emissions green iron facility.

“Santos gas will be used to enable Whyalla to deploy direct reduced iron technology that can process local magnetite ore to produce low-carbon iron. This will keep jobs in Whyalla and the Cooper Basin, and reduce emissions by approximately 50% compared to the former coal-fired blast furnace operations,” said Santos managing director and CEO Kevin Gallagher.

The contract quantity represents approximately 30% of Santos’ production in the Cooper Basin. First gas deliveries are scheduled to coincide with the expiry of Santos’ supply contract with Gladstone LNG, a joint venture among Santos, KOGAS, Petronas and TotalEnergies.

Santos operates key upstream assets across Australia and Papua New Guinea, including the Cooper Basin, Barossa gasfield and PNG LNG. In South Australia, it leads development of the Moomba gas hub and associated carbon capture and storage initiatives.

Photo courtesy of Government of South Australia