The West Australian newspaper this morning reported that during a review of a 10-year supply contract, the Woodside Petroleum-led NWS Venture demanded Alinta agree to pay 80% more for its gas.

After Alinta refused, the NWS venture terminated the contract at the 2008 review date, according to the newspaper.

The contract, which runs until 2012, is believed to account for about 20% of the gas supplied by Alinta to the state’s domestic market.

The report comes as the WA Government is pushing a proposal to reserve up to 20% of the state’s gas reserves for domestic use.

Premier Alan Carpenter has previously warned that under current export contracts, natural gas supplies for the WA domestic market could expire within 10-15 years.

His proposal has met with criticism from Woodside and the Federal Government, but the Commonwealth has conceded it has no power to override the plan.

The six equal participants in the NWS Venture are Woodside Energy (operator); BHP Billiton (North West Shelf); BP Developments Australia; Chevron Australia; Japan Australia LNG (MIMI) and Shell Development (Australia).