Fletcher Building: Iplex Queensland Coal Seam Gas Market Contracts Around A$180 Million

Iplex Pipelines, a recently acquired unit of Fletcher Building (FBU.NZ), has secured around A$180 million (US$178 million) in supply contracts for the Queensland coal seam gas market, Fletcher Building said Wednesday.

Iplex will supply polyethylene pipe to QGC Pty Ltd. for its Queensland Curtis Island LNG Project, the company said in a release. The contract to supply pipe to the project has an initial value of approximately A$120 million. Deliveries are expected to commence in December 2011 and continue over two years, with a smaller three-year optional extension period. QCG is a unit of BG Group PLC (BG.LN).

Iplex will also supply pipe and fittings to Fluor Corp. (FLR) for Santos Ltd.'s (STO.AU) gas export joint venture in Queensland state and that project now stands at over A$60 million, Fletcher Building said.

In order to supply the above contracts, Iplex will be extending its footprint in south-east Queensland through the construction of a new manufacturing facility in the Toowoomba region, which is expected to be operational by mid-2012, it said.

-By Rebecca Howard, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]