Santos Ltd. Chief Executive Officer David Knox will step down after seven years in the role as the Australian oil producer reviews its options amid a plunge in crude prices, the company said Friday.
Knox will depart once a successor has been named, the Adelaide-based company said in a statement after reporting an 82 percent drop in first-half profit.
The slide in oil prices has put pressure on Santos as the company prepares to start its $18.5 billion liquefied natural gas project in Queensland state. The Australian energy producer has cut spending and jobs while flagging the possibility of asset sales as it copes with the oil market downturn. Santos shares have fallen 62 percent in the last year.
Australian energy company Santos has cut its capital expenditure for 2015 by 25%.
The company said there will be a drop in spending from $2.7billion to $2billion.
However managing director, David Knox, has insisted the company’s financial position remains strong.
Australian explorer Karoon Gas has made further progress with its work at the Santos Basin exploration and drilling campaign.
The Kangaroo-2 has now penetrated the target Paleocene reservoir at 1,660 mRTas indicated by increased LWD readings, elevated gas readings and oil shows seen in mud log cuttings from the reservoir.
Drilling will continue to a total depth before wireline logging is run, which is designed to confirm the presence of the hydrocarbon column.
Australian energy firm Santos has completed the first of three major gas processing hubs in its Queensland gas fields.
The hub is now fully operational, as commissioning of Santos GLNG’s two other major processing hubs continues.
It follows the delivery of first gas into the Santos GLNG (Gladstone Liquefied Natural Gas) pipeline last month.
Australian energy firm Santos has seen its sales and production rise rise by 9% on its previous quarter.
It follows the successful ramp-up of its LNG project in Papua New Guinea (PNGLNG) which reached full capacity earlier this year.
