Anxiety over security of domestic gas supply Deep doubts have been raised about the outlook for gas supply on the east coast of Australia because of the imminent launch of a series of gas export projects in Queensland. These are due to start production next year, raising the prospect of shortages emerging from 2015. Domestic gas prices are already rising to international levels, as producers take advantage of any supply shortfall. After a detailed review, the Australian Energy Markets Commission in a report released on Friday queried whether new gasfields could be developed soon enough to meet prospective shortfalls. It pointed to gas being sourced from new fields such as Kipper in Bass Strait, the Gunnedah and Gloucester basins in NSW, the Ironbark field in Queensland and prospective unconventional reserves in the Cooper Basin in central Australia, and possibly the Northern Territory. "It is possible that production from existing sources in eastern Australia could increase," the report said. It is unclear at this stage though whether all of the proposed projects will proceed and if they do, whether they will be used to supply the domestic or export market. The other uncertainty is whether any of the new fields could be developed soon enough to fill the demand gap expected to emerge from 2015. One of the largest energy retailers, Origin Energy, recently agreed with Exxon and BHP Billiton to pay an oil price-linked gas price for gas from Bass Strait - among the first of these high-priced contracts in the local market. "Conditions in the market are expected to become even tighter from 2015," the report said. Work is under way to start a short-term gas market centred on Wallumbilla in western Queensland, and to make gas pipeline capacity more transparent, which could also help a short-term trading market to develop. At present, all gas is contracted on medium- to long-term contracts, with little transparency about pricing. The commission's study comes as the federal government is to intervene to break the impasse in NSW which has stopped the development of the coal seam gas sector because of deep-seated opposition. Earlier this year, the Victorian government set up a taskforce to examine gas supply and pricing issues. The federal government is also examining the outlook.