[mburbank]

Oh, wait, I just re read the piece and it seems Halliburton is only possibly in danger of perhaps loosing an extension on the Gasoline distributrion part of their contract.


US senators say Halliburton to lose Iraq gasoline business


WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Army may replace Halliburton as the agent for future gasoline imports into Iraq (news - web sites) following accusations of overcharging, two senior Democratic lawmakers said.


The Army Corps of Engineers was considering switching the business to the Pentagon (news - web sites)'s Defense Energy Support Center, said two Democrats in the House of Representatives, Henry Waxman and John Dingell.

"Given the extraordinarily high prices that Halliburton has been charging to import gasoline, this action could save American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars," they wrote in a letter to the Army Corps.

The Army Corps was not immediately available to comment.

Waxman and Dingell said they learned of plans to switch the business away from Halliburton during discussions with the director of the Defense Energy Support Center, Jeffrey Jones.

"According to Mr. Jones, the Corps asked the Defense Energy Support Center to take over the job of bringing gasoline and other fuels into Iraq," the lawmakers wrote.

The center was now evaluating how long it would take to assume Halliburton's gasoline import responsibilities, they wrote.

Waxman is the senior Democrat in the House of Representatives' committee on government reform and Dingell the ranking Democrat in the House committee on energy and energy.

The lawmakers said they were surprised no one had checked with the Defense Energy Support Center earlier.

"If the center had been consulted before Halliburton was tasked with importing fuel under its no-bid sole-sources contract, many millions of dollars could have been saved," Waxman and Dingell wrote.

The two Democrats have accused Halliburton of charging the US government 162.5 million dollars for 61.3 million gallons of gasoline imported from Kuwait, equivalent to 2.65 dollars a gallon.

They said officials had told them the Defense Energy Support Center was already importing some gasoline into Iraq for military use for less than half that amount.

"According to these officials, the Defense Energy Support Center can even deliver jet fuel all the way to Antarctica for significantly less than Halliburton charges to take gasoline just 400 miles (640 kilometers) from Kuwait to Baghdad," the lawmakers said.

Halliburton's Kellogg Brown and Root engineering and construction division netted a widely criticised, no-bid government contract to help rebuild Iraq's shattered oil industry in March.

Halliburton chief executive David Lesar has rejected allegations against his firm in the past, saying it is a "political target" because of Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites)'s past involvement.

Cheney, who was chief executive of Halliburton from 1995-2000, has denied any role in Halliburton's Iraq contracts.