Western Australia may need to rely on natural gas drawn from storage and LNG cargoes diverted from the export market to avert shortages in the domestic market over the next three years, the Australian Energy Market Operator has advised.

The state’s domestic gas supply is expected to run short of demand through to 2026 before new projects come online to take the pressure off, but the gap would be extended if the fields are delayed, AEMO said in its annual outlook for the WA gas market.