Santos seeks larger C pad at Pikka as drilling expands

Santos subsidiary Oil Search Alaska has asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, to enlarge the already permitted C pad at Pikka, a move that points to a bigger drilling footprint before the pad is even built. Current drilling is on A pad, with future expansion drilling expected from B pad to the north and C pad to the west, so the request signals that Santos is still adjusting the field layout as construction, hauling and well plans advance.

That matters on the North Slope because pad size shapes how much site work has to be done, how many contractors are needed, and how quickly more wells can be added. Pikka Phase 1 was already set up to be a major project when Santos took final investment decision on Aug. 17, 2022, with first oil anticipated in 2026, peak gross output of 80,000 barrels a day and 397 million barrels of gross 2P reserves before royalties. Santos also said the development would support more than 500 operating jobs and about 2,600 construction jobs, with 98% of current employees living in Alaska.

The scale of the buildout has only grown clearer since then. In April 2026, Santos vice president for business development Pete Laliberte said the company had invested about $3 billion in Pikka construction, completed about 120 miles of pipeline and was about to start oil production. He said the sales pipeline can carry up to 160,000 barrels a day, leaving room for future growth, and that a Phase 2 could raise production to 120,000 barrels a day from the same field pad. For communities and service companies in the borough, that kind of expansion can mean more long-term work, more freight movement and a larger base of spending tied to the project.

The C pad request also fits a broader timeline of permitting and expansion. Oil Search filed in March 2024 to expand the Pikka Unit by 19,664 acres of state land, and that application was deemed complete in June 2024. The company’s amended 2024 plan of development described Phase 2 concept-select work, including engineering, cost and schedule development, feasibility analysis and long-lead permitting, with a move toward FEED expected later that year or in early 2025. On Jan. 9, 2025, Oil Search (USA), Inc. and Pikka Transportation Company, LLC filed to transfer pipeline permits for the Pikka Sales Oil Pipeline, which is designed to move oil from the Pikka Unit to the Kuparuk Pipeline and then into the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.

Even before first oil, Pikka has already been tied to property taxes and lease rentals that flow to the state, the North Slope Borough and other local jurisdictions. A larger C pad would not just change a permit drawing; it would help set the pace for the next phase of North Slope construction, drilling and revenue from one of the region’s most closely watched new oil fields.