News: Iraq announces $US518M Leighton contract

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The Iraq government has announced that it has awarded a subsidiary of Leighton Holdings Limited (ASX:LEI) a $US518 million contract.



The head of Leighton Holdings media, Christian Sealey, has not confirmed or denied the statement, claiming instead that the company has no comment at this stage and no material information to disclose to the Australian Securities Exchange. 



The government’s statement claims it has given the contract to Leighton’s Singapore-registered subsidiary, Leighton Offshore, to expand oil export facilities in Iraq.

The project is understood to be aimed towards increasing the export capacities for the oil ports in the south of Iraq to handle increased crude oil production.



Leighton Holdings booked a net loss of $406 million in the 2011 financial year.