Oil import overseers removed

The US Defence Department is removing the Army Corps of Engineers from overseeing oil imports into Iraq, just weeks after Pentagon auditors said Halliburton – Vice President Dick Cheney’s former firm – may have overcharged taxpayers under the corps’ supervision.

The Defence Energy Support Centre, which buys fuel for the military throughout the world, will supervise the replacement of Halliburton and the award of a new contract for the imports.

Democratic politicians were highly critical of the prices charged to the US government by Halliburton’s KBR subsidiary, which has been importing refined petroleum products into Iraq under a mission awarded without competitive bids. Earlier this month, the Defence Department’s auditing agency found that the company may have charged up to €56.6m too much for delivering petrol to Iraqi citizens.