Australia’s resources exports are tipped to hit a record $264 billion next year as WA’s iron ore miners hit new heights and the North West Shelf helps Australia knock off Qatar as the world’s biggest natural gas exporter.

And WA’s tumbling investment in new projects and infrastructure has finally hit the bottom of the cycle, according to the Federal Government’s resources forecasting unit that has identified a $95 billion pipeline of projects in the State.

Despite completion of some of the biggest projects WA has had — natural gas behemoths worth hundreds of billions such as Gorgon, Wheatstone and others — the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science’s resources forecasting unit said WA still had $19 billion worth of job-creating “committed” projects in the wings.

Another $44 to $75 billion worth of projects sit in the unit’s feasibility stage — where money is still being spent proving them up but final investment decisions are yet to be made.

Fourteen new projects have joined that list since DIIS’ last major project list was published a year ago, as WA’s gold and lithium hopefuls pumped cash into drilling out and engineering their prospects.

Australian iron ore exports, overwhelmingly from the Pilbara, are likely to tip over $63.5 billion this financial year, the highest since the stunning $74.7 billion at the height of the mining boom in 2013-14, on the back of record volumes, stubbornly high prices and the falling Aussie dollar.

Despite widespread concerns about the impact of a trade war between the US and China — temporarily on hold but still looming large in the thoughts of economists across the globe — the chief economist for DIIS, Mark Cully, said WA’s biggest commodity was unlikely to be affected.

“Looking forward, WA is in a pretty good position,” he said.

“The vast majority of WA’s iron ore goes into domestic use in China, so it’s not that exposed to trade tensions.

“And if China starts an infrastructure spending campaign to offset the potential for those trade tensions, as it looks as though they may, that could also be of benefit.”

Mr Cully said Australia’s monthly volumes of liquefied natural gas topped those of the previously dominant global exporter, Qatar, last month.

The department’s latest quarterly report shows the growing importance of lithium to the WA economy. Exports of the commodity are likely to top the billion-dollar mark for the first time.