Australia's Santos Ltd indicated on Wednesday that it may not make final go-ahead decisions on its oil projects in Alaska and Australia by mid-year, even after delivering a record annual underlying profit on the back of surging oil and gas prices.
Santos had previously said it expected to make a final investment decision (FID) on its Pikka project in Alaska in the first half of 2022 and on its Dorado project off Western Australia by mid-2022, but on Tuesday said the two projects would be "FID-ready" by mid-year.
The caution on its growth projects came despite Chief Executive Kevin Gallagher saying the world needs more oil and gas, following a year in which energy security issues came into the spotlight.