French utilities Veolia Environnement SA (VE) and Suez
Environnement SA (SEV.FR) were short listed for a EUR1 billion
contract to treat water for a huge gas project in northern
Australia, French newspaper Les Echos reported Wednesday on its
website.

Queensland Gas Company, a unit of U.K.-based BG Group (BG.LN),
opened a tender offer for the treatment of the water it will use
to extract natural gas from a coal deposit in northern Australia.
Beside Veolia and Suez Environnement, Queensland Gas Company also
short-listed General Electric Co. (GE) and a fourth unidentified
company, Les Echos reported.

Officials at the French utilities weren’t immediately able to
comment.

Newspaper Web site: http://www.lesechos.fr

Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@dowjones.com

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