(Reuters) - Australia's Santos Ltd <STO.AX> on Monday said a fourth gas rig had started operations at the Cooper Basin site in South Australia, as it looks to ramp up output to supply markets in the east of the country.
The rig, the Ensign 965, will drill eight wells by year-end, Santos said in a statement. That will bring the number of gas wells expected to be drilled at the site this year to nearly 90.
"Drilling more wells and lowering production costs ... is the best way to keep downward pressure on gas prices," said Santos Chief Executive Officer Kevin Gallagher.
The company said it is on track to supply about 70 petajoules of gas to the east coast domestic market in 2018, accounting for about 13 per cent of the anticipated demand.
(Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Joseph Radford)
