2012 Set To Be Another Big Year for Extraction Industries in Oceania

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Perth, Australia) -- With 2011 drawing to an end, we look back at the big year we have had in 2011 and look forward to an even bigger year ahead, in 2012. Whilst the rest of the western world has struggled through 2011 and remain cautious for 2012, with talks of double dip recessions, sovereign debt crisis and economic meltdowns, the Oceania region, especially Australia, has experienced a record year of industrial spending with this trend looking to continue and even expand into 2012.

Over the past twelve months the oil & gas and metals & minerals industries have dominated spending across Oceania with $41.3 billion and $37.2 billion worth of projects respectively, having kicked off construction. These two industries accounted for 90% of total committed project spending with metals & minerals dominating the total project count but a number of multibillion dollar natural gas projects in the oil & gas sector pushing it to the top.

The two industries are shaping up to again dominate the Oceania region in 2012 in regards to total investment value, with another $184 billion worth of projects due to kickoff sometime in the next 12 months. One of the largest of the metals & minerals projects due to kickoff next year is the $4 billion, BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) (Brisbane, Australia) funded Caval Ridge coal project near Moranbah in Queensland, which is just one of the many large scale coal projects currently in development in the state. Xstrata Coal's (Sydney, Australia) $3 billion Wandoan project, Coal & Allied Industries' (Brisbane, Australia) $1.3 billion Mount Pleasant project and Vale Australia's (Brisbane, Australia) $1.2 billion Eagle Downs project are also currently scheduled to begin construction during 2012.

In the iron ore sector also Industrial Info is expecting large growth over the next twelve months, with over $30 billion worth of projects set to begin construction, the majority of these projects obviously centred in Western Australia including Crosslands Resources' (Perth, Australia) $3.5 billion Jack Hills mine expansion, Roy Hill Holdings' (Perth, Australia) $2.7 billion Roy Hill Project and Australasian Resources' (Perth, Australia) (ASX:ARH) $2.5 billion Balmoral South project.

In the Natural Gas sector one of the largest projects that is scheduled to kickoff construction in 2012 is the Browse LNG project, being developed by Woodside Petroleum (Perth, Australia) (ASX:WPL), although there is now a strong possibility that this project will be delayed by at least twelve months, as Woodside have recently applied to the Western Australian Government for a twelve month extension to their agreed final investment decision timetable.

The Oceania power industry is also set for another year of expansion with over $22.5 billion worth of projects due to kickoff next year. The majority of these projects, $17.2 billion worth, are located in the renewable energy sector, which includes wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and tidal, due to the increasing demand for cleaner energy's. The largest of these renewable projects scheduled to begin construction in 2012, is actually located on the southern island of New Zealand. The $2 billion, Project Hayes wind farm, being developed by Meridian Energy ( located near Dunedin, on the southern tip of New Zealand has the potential to be the largest wind farm development in the southern hemisphere, should it go ahead in 2012 as scheduled, although it is still unclear whether this will be the case due to continuing environmental issues.

Overall, the high level of opportunity that has presented itself in Oceania over 2011 looks set to continue into 2012. With Industrial Info now tracking 943 active projects across the region and 382 of these projects, with a total investment value of $230 billion, set to kickoff construction in 2012, the next twelve months are shaping up to be the some of the most productive in history.

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Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.