Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics deputy executive director Paul Morris added the bureau’s latest report, Minerals and Energy: Major development projects – April 2010, placed the value of advanced minerals and energy projects at $109.6 billion.“The high level of committed capital expenditure and the significant number of projects committed to in the past six months is a reflection of expectations of growing demand for minerals and energy commodities in the medium and longer term,” Morris said.The $109.6 billion is spread across 75 advanced projects, defined as being under construction or committed, of which 41 are energy projects and six are mineral or energy processing projects.Energy projects account for around 73%, or $80 billion, of the estimated capital cost of all listed advanced major projects. The majority of these are located in Western Australia, which accounts for around 79% of the total capital expenditure on advanced projects. The listing of 361 major development projects includes a record 286 projects at a less advanced stage; that is projects undergoing feasibility studies or approval processes.In the six months to April 2010, 49 new projects were added to ABARE’s list of development projects. This compares with 44 projects being added in the six months to October 2009 and 11 projects being added in the six months prior to April 2009.
