Woodside would need to provide more than a year of production from its Pluto facility to the Western Australian market to make up the gap between its delivery and the expected delivery under the state’s reservation policy.
New analysis from the DomGas Alliance found that Woodside has delivered only 3.8 percent of Pluto production into the WA market since 2017, well below the 15 percent benchmark.
Since the March quarter of 2017, Woodside has exported 300,413 terajoules of gas that would have remained in Western Australia had Pluto met the 15 per cent reservation benchmark. That volume is enough to supply the entire state for more than 300 days.
Based on Pluto's average quarterly production rates, Woodside would need to dedicate the project's entire output to the WA domestic market for 13 months just to repay the gas shortfall.
A 2024 Parliamentary Inquiry found Pluto's domestic gas arrangements required attention and reform, a recommendation accepted by the WA Government. These negotiations are now approaching the two-year mark.
The Alliance highlighted the issue in its submission to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee's Inquiry into the national Domestic Gas Reservation Bill 2026, which is due to report today.
While supporting the legislation's objectives, the submission argues that any decision to exclude Western Australia by setting a reduced federal obligation should be subject to a transparent assessment process, consultation with major gas users, and regular review.
Attributable to DomGas Alliance Spokesperson Mia Davies:
“The lesson from Woodside’s shortfall is clear.
“We cannot assume a market is adequately supplied simply because a reservation policy exists.
“Before considering an exemption from the national scheme for WA, there should be clear evidence that the market is well-supplied.
“At the very least, the AEMO Gas Statement of Opportunities should be showing no deficit of supply across the period the domestic supply obligation exemption will be applied.
“The undersupply from Woodside is particularly concerning as Western Australia faces tightening gas supply later this decade.
“Western Australia is held up as the benchmark for domestic gas reservation - these numbers show there can be a substantial disconnect between reservation commitments and what is actually supplied.
"Any decision to vary WA’s DSO should be based on evidence that domestic gas commitments are being delivered and that the market is genuinely well supplied.
“The national scheme should work alongside WA's policy, recognising where it delivers adequate and affordable gas to the domestic market.
“An exemption for Western Australia from the proposed national gas reservation scheme would let gas producers off the hook when domestic supply commitments are already falling short.
“AEMO's forecasts show WA is heading towards gas supply shortfalls from 2030, making it critical that existing domestic gas commitments are honoured.
“Calls for an exemption ring hollow when WA faces looming gas supply shortfall.
“If gas producers want WA exempted from the national scheme, they must prove the current system is delivering sufficient affordable gas to the domestic market. The WA Government must also demonstrate it is acting on the recommendations of the 2024 Parliamentary Inquiry, which found the State's gas reservation policy is no longer fit for purpose.
“Hundreds of thousands of jobs depend on reliable and competitively priced gas. Industry needs confidence that producers will deliver on their commitments before governments consider carving WA out of a national scheme.”
