The Western Australia Gas Statement of Opportunities (WA GSOO) include forecasts of gas demand and supply, an overview of gas infrastructure in the state, and emerging issues affecting the gas industry. It is designed to assist gas market participants and other energy industry stakeholders to identify any potential shortfalls, constraints, and opportunities in the WA natural gas sector.

WA Gas Statement of Opportunities - December 2016

AEMO published its first edition of the WA GSOO on 8 December 2016. 

• WA Gas Statement of Opportunities - December 2016 [5.0 MB]

Supporting Documents

• WA GSOO Data Register - December 2016 [15.0 MB]
• Stakeholder Briefing Presentation - 12 December 2016  [419 kb]

 The key findings of the 2016 WA GSOO are:

• WA domestic gas market is expected to be well supplied, with potential gas supply expected to remain higher than forecast gas demand over the outlook period.
• There is a risk associated with supply post 2021 if gas reserves are not developed.  Several domestic production facilities may not have sufficient reserves to operate beyond 2021. The “Remaining gas reserves linked to domestic production facilities” scenario shows there may be a sharp fall in gas production after 2022, associated with gas reserves depletion.
• Growth in domestic gas demand is forecast to be around 0.1% over the outlook period, as only a handful of large gas consumers are expected to enter the market over the 10-year horizon.
• There is greater potential for growth in gas demand from customers located outside of the South West interconnected system (SWIS) than in the SWIS.
• Exploration in WA’s gas basins is at its lowest level since 1990. If exploration remains low, new gas projects may not be developed and existing domestic gas production facilities may shut down due to lack of gas feedstock. At the current production rates of domestic gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), proved and probable (2P) reserves can last till 2035, but a large proportion of these reserves are held by LNG export companies and joint ventures.
• The reduction of 380 MW of Synergy’s electricity generation capacity could affect gas demand from SWIS gas powered generators (GPG). In the absence of any public announcements around which specific generators will retire, any changes in GPG as a result of emissions policy have not been accounted for in the gas demand forecasts in this report.

AEMO is responsible for preparing and publishing the WA GSOO under Part 6 of the Gas Services Information Rules. It is published each year by 31 December. The first four editions of the WA GSOO were published by the Independent Market Operator (IMO).

Supporting documents relating to the previous WA GSOOs can be found below.

Previous WA GSOO reports and supporting documents