UPDATE 1-KBR awarded C$225 mln contract in Alberta

(Recasts first paragraph, changes dateline from NEW YORK, adds details, stock price)

HOUSTON, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Engineering and construction company KBR Inc (KBR.N) said on Monday it won a C$225 million ($222 million) dollar contract for the construction and fabrication of a gasification unit by Lurgi AG, a unit of Air Liquide (AIRP.PA).

The project, expected to last 30 months, is located near Edmonton, Alberta, and is slated to begin in 2008, the Houston company said in a statement.

Shares of KBR rose 26 cents to $35.55 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Lurgi is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor to North West Upgrading, a private company building a C$12.6 billion oil sands upgrader. The upgrader will convert the tar-like bitumen stripped from the oil sands into refinery-ready crude oil.

KBR, a former unit of Halliburton Co (HAL.N) and the Pentagon's largest private contractor in Iraq, has said it wants to expand its business that provides services to the energy industry. (Reporting by Anna Driver, editing by Steve Orlofsky)