BY ROSS KELLY

SYDNEY—Santos Friday said Australia is poised to join the ranks of global shale gas producers, targeting first sales of the unconventional fuel in October following encouraging drilling results in the Australian Outback.

Reports of the drilling success came as Australia’s third-largest oil and gas producer reported a 48% drop in first-half profit to 262 million Australian dollars (US$275.6 million). The decline was largely due to the company benefiting from asset sales in the previous period. Underlying earnings beat expectations by growing 20%, buoyed by higher natural gas prices.

Like many of its peers, Santos is transforming itself from relying on ….”