Santos vs Woodside: Are these ASX 200 oil and gas shares a buy, hold or sell for 2026?

Major oil and gas producers Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) are dominant players on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

At the time of writing on Wednesday afternoon, Woodside shares are down 2.47% to $22.94 a piece. For 2026 so far, Woodside shares are down 3.53% and they’re currently trading 10.29% lower than this time last year.

Santos shares are also trading in the red at the time of writing, down 2.78% to $5.92 a piece. For 2026 so far, the shares are 4.13% lower, and they’re down 14.97% from this time last year.

For context, the ASX 200 Index is up 0.39% today, up 0.18% for the year to date, and 5.21% above the levels seen this time last year.

What happened to Woodside shares this year?

It was a volatile year for Woodside’s shares. Dwindling oil prices dampened the ASX 200 Australian petroleum exploration and production company’s performance potential throughout most of the year.

Its share price pushed higher on the back of a steep uptick in the crude oil price in late October, climbing nearly 20% over a four-week period. But the shares dropped again, around 7%, in mid-December after it announced the shock exit of its CEO.

In its latest quarterly update, in October, Woodside showed an uptick in revenue and production. The oil and gas producer thinks the two metrics will keep growing in 2026, too. Woodside has upgraded its full-year production guidance to 192–197 MMboe and plans to progress its pipeline of global projects this year.

What happened to Santos shares this year?

Santos shares fell sharply in late August after the company posted its half-year results and a potential takeover proposal by an ADNOC-led group collapsed. The group dropped the takeover bid in mid-August after the process raised concerns about governance and regulatory issues.

Dwindling oil prices also played their part in the latter few months of 2026. WTI crude oil prices fell in late-December following supply concerns, dragging down the independent oil and gas producer’s share price with it.

But there were quite a few positive developments out of the company in late-2025 too. In mid-December, Santos announced it had accelerated the final repayment under the PNG LNG project finance facility, bringing the facility to a close. Santos made its final $363 million payment six months ahead of the June 2026 repayment deadline.

The company also executed a conditional sale and purchase agreement to divest its 42.86% operated interest in the Mahalo Joint Venture to Comet Ridge Ltd (ASX: COI).

Are the ASX 200 oil and gas producers a buy, hold or sell for 2026?

Analysts are split about the outlook for Woodside shares in 2026. TradingView data shows that out of 16 analysts, 7 have a buy or strong buy rating on the shares and the other 9 have a hold rating.

The average 12-month target price for Woodside shares is $26.21, which implies a potential 14.64% upside ahead for investors. But some analysts think the shares could jump as high as $33.49, which implies a 46.54% upside at the time of writing.

It’s a similar story for Santos shares. Data shows that 10 out of 15 analysts have a buy or strong buy rating on Santos shares. Meanwhile 4 have a hold rating and 1 analyst rates Santos shares as a sell.

The average 12-month target price on Santos shares is $7.37, which implies a potential 24.34% upside for investors. However some think the share price could climb up to $8.71, which represents a 46.91% upside at the time of writing.

The post Santos vs Woodside: Are these ASX 200 oil and gas shares a buy, hold or sell for 2026? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Samantha Menzies 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.