West Australian Energy Minister Peter Collier announced that short-term gas supplies will be provided in a bid aiming to bring more transparency to the market.

This is one of the key recommendations of a review into 2008's Varanus Island gas pipeline explosion which resulted to the cut down of the state’s gas supplies by one-third. This caused chaos on Apache’s industrial customers, thus slashing WA’s business production by up to $2 billion.

For three months, a temporary bulletin board was established during the crisis amid claims of price gouging and profiteering due to the gas shortage.

Gas Supply and Emergency Management Committee recommended a permanent gas bulletin board must be set up and overseen by an independent WA body.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald Collier appointed the administrator of WA's electricity sector, the Independent Market Operator, to carry out the task of setting up a web-based bulletin board which would provide the latest market information on short gas supply and demand.
In similarity to the bulletin used in the eastern states, “it provides greater visibility on the near-term availability of gas as a commodity and its transport", Collier said.

"The gas bulletin board will greatly improve information transparency on gas supply and demand to the wider public, and provide for a more competitive and dynamic gas market in the state," Collier explained.

A long-term arrangement between WA's energy producer, Verve Energy, and natural gas infrastructure company APA Group, was also approved by the government.

Collier declared once operational, the facility near Dongara, on WA's mid-west coast, would provide greater security to the state's gas supply in case of any future shortage.

"It will provide for well in excess of 120 terajoules of gas supply for several weeks in the event ofa crisis, meeting critical downstream needs, including electricity generation," he added.