(Recasts, adds Adelaide Brighton's deal with Infigen, background)
Dec 5 (Reuters) - Australia's Adelaide Brighton Ltd (ABC) said on Tuesday it has strengthened its energy supplies, signing a gas agreement with Beach Energy Ltd (BPT) and an electricity deal with Infigen Energy Ltd (IFN).
The South Australian cement maker is shoring up its energy supply to shield itself against soaring prices and blackouts that have plagued the state over the past 18 months due to a rapid expansion of wind power and the closure of all the coal-fired plants in the state.
Beach said in a separate statement that it will supply a total of four petajoules (PJ) of gas to Adelaide Brighton, starting Jan. 1, 2018, from its Western Flank acreage.
The contract would initially last for one year, Beach said. It gave no price, but said the deal was "attractive" relative to its current weighted average realised gas price.
Adelaide Brighton said it had also entered a deal with Infigen Energy Ltd (IFN) to supply electricity to its Birkenhead and Angaston cement manufacturing plants and Klein Point quarry in South Australia.
Adelaide Brighton's shares touched a record high at A$6.52. Beach shares rose to their highest since April, 2015 at A$1.19 before slipping to A$1.16 by 0125 GMT.
Beach chief executive Matt Kay said: "In addition to the new gas sales agreements, continued Western Flank gas drilling success has allowed us to embark on a 60 percent increase in gas processing capacity."
