Strong LNG prices and an uptick to forward prices for crude oil should help lift market sentiment about ASX-listed oil and gas producers when they start to report December quarter sales this week, even as analysts say the stocks are still trading below fair value.

Analysts will also be keenly eyeing the first update from Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher since the completion of the company’s $22 billion merger with Papua New Guinea’s Oil Search in December, with the production outlook and potential asset sales of primary interest.