Why is the Santos share price off to a flying start this week?

The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is stretching higher to start the trading week.

At the time of writing, shares in the oil and gas giant are trading at $7.93 apiece, a 3% gain on the day.

In broader market moves, the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) is the best performing sector so far on Monday, up 3.51% as well.

What’s up with the Santos share price?

Energy stocks are catching a bid today as energy-backed commodities continue their strong performance during today’s session.

Brent Crude Oil is up more than 1.43% to US$94.35/Bbl and continues to trade within a two-month range. Meantime, US natural gas futures is also up more than 2% to US$8.97/MMBtu – a shade off 10-year highs.

The gains are partially offset by a substantial decline in European and UK gas contracts, down 11% and 15% at last check during Monday’s session.

However, despite today’s volatility, both oil and gas benchmarks remain heavily elevated over the 12 months to date, as seen on the chart below, alongside the Santos share price in blue.

Noteworthy is that Santos also released an announcement today.

Whilst it wasn’t deemed price sensitive, Santos says that it’s been awarded permits for evaluation and appraisal work for the potential storage of carbon dioxide in the offshore Carnarvon and Bonaparte basins.

Both sites are located off the coast of Western Australia and the permits allow Santos to “pursue potential carbon capture and storage (CCS) opportunities with its joint venture partners”.

Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher noted there were potential strengths arising from both projects.

Carbon capture and storage is critical for the world to reduce emissions and in line with Santos’ net-zero scope 1 and 2 equity-share emissions by 2040 target, we are committed to looking at all options for CCS capabilities.

At Santos, we have the technology, infrastructure and knowledge to be able to deliver lowcost CCS competitively on a global scale. We know a large scale-up of CCS is required to meet the world’s climate objectives.

Santos share price snapshot

In the last 12 months, the Santos share price is up almost 27%.

That’s well ahead of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) which has lost 9% over the same period.

The post Why is the Santos share price off to a flying start this week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Are ASX 200 energy shares a good investment right now?
• Blocked again: Here’s what happened to ASX 200 shares last time the Suez was cut off
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Why is the Santos share price sliding lower today?

Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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