Australia is going through a boom in its mining and natural resources industries, which, in turn, is driving a construction industry boom. A number of multi-billion-dollar projects are under development and creating massive demand for engineering skills, particularly those related to construction. The UK is a prime source of expatriate professional and supervisory construction skills. The boom began in Western Australia, centred on production of liquefied natural gas, both on and offshore, and iron ore onshore. The state's mining and petroleum industry has grown at an average annual rate of 15 per cent for the last decade. Queensland is now following, producing LNG and coal. In both cases, much of the production is destined for export to India and China. International oil company Chevron is leading two big LNG developments, Gorgon and Wheatstone, off Western Australia's north-west coast. Gorgon is located on Barrow Island, 60km from the coast. Construction of the AUS$29bn (£18.4bn) Wheatstone project began last year at Ashburton North on the coast. It will be supplied from production platforms 120km offshore.
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