Santos chairman Keith Spence re-elected
Activist shareholders were unable to block the re-election of Keith Spence as Santos chairman at its AGM.
Keith Spence was re-elected as Santos chairman today. Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily.
Keith Spence was re-elected as chairman at the Santos annual general meeting today.
All other resolutions were passed, including the re-election of Vanessa Guthrie as director and the elections of two new directors John Lydon and Vickki McFadden.
The votes followed the AGM at Adelaide Oval today, before which Extinction Rebellion protestors gathered outside as shareholders made their way into the building.
Activist shareholders were also out in force, including Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility executive director Brynn O’Brien who grilled the board on the company’s growth strategy and executive remuneration.
ACCR is suing Santos for alleged “greenwashing” over claims it can reduce carbon emissions using carbon capture and storage (CCR).
Santos announced in February it had tapped major banks for $335 million to further its CCR facility at Moomba in South Australia’s outback.
Santos anticipates the Moomba project will have the capacity to store up to 1.7 million tonnes of CO2, “equivalent to delivering – every year – about 28 per cent of the total emissions reduction achieved in Australia’s electricity sector last year” according to the company.
Other activist shareholders present included Gamilaroi elder Dorothy Tighe, who questioned the chairman about Santos’ commitment to protecting the Pilliga Forest in New South Wales which she said was threatened by the company’s Narrabi gas project.
Protesters outside the SANTOS AGM at Adelaide Oval on Thursday. Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily
The company, which this year celebrates its 70th year of operation, enjoyed a strong 2023 on financial metrics according to chairman Spence, who said free cash flow was just over US$2.1 billion.
He said the company would pursue projects to deliver critical fuels to meet customer demand, would decarbonise Santos and would be developing lower-carbon fuels as customer demand evolves over time.
“This means we continue to develop our Barossa gas project, our Pikka oil project in Alaska and the resource base around our existing LNG projects in Gladstone, Darwin and Papua New Guinea,” Spence said.
The company also revealed that its $5 billion Barossa gas project, which was subject to a legal challenge by Tiwi Islanders until that was dismissed by the Federal Court in January, is now 70 per cent complete.
CEO Kevin Gallagher said Santos was “focused on running our own race”. Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily.
Speaking to reporters after the AGM, CEO Kevin Gallagher said the Barossa project would come online in 2025. The CCS project at Moomba is expected to be completed this year, while its Narrabi gas project should be constructed by 2026.
The AGM also followed talks falling through between Santos and Woodside about a potential merger.
Asked by reporters at a press conference whether that merger was “dead and buried”, Gallagher said Santos was “focused on running our own race”.
“And that’s what we’ll continue to do at Santos,” the CEO said.
“The fact that other companies are looking at Santos, and want to merge or acquire Santos, I think speaks volumes to the portfolio of opportunities that we have and the value that they see across our portfolio.
“I think Santos is significantly undervalued, but I do believe that if we continue to execute on strategy we’ll see that value come through in the share price.”
Shares in Santos were up 1.16 per cent after the AGM.
