Surprise, surprise, Halliburton overcharged for fuel in Iraq

[Ugg]

Link (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3979898)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Pentagon audit of Halliburton, the oil services company once run by Vice President Dick Cheney, has found it overcharged for fuel it brought into Iraq from Kuwait, military sources said on Thursday.

The article didn't say how much it overcharged.

Halliburton of course denies the claim.

[SPG]

$2.64 a gallon in the middle of a country that sells it for around $0.35 a gallon. Your tax dollars at work.

[pseudobrit]

I suppose they might blame road taxes. Or maybe the attendants were very well paid.

[IJ Reilly]

Originally posted by SPG
$2.64 a gallon in the middle of a country that sells it for around $0.35 a gallon. Your tax dollars at work.

The official price is more like $0.05 a gallon, but it's sold on the gray market for $0.50 or more.

[mactastic]

Halliburton blames the high cost of the short-term contracts that they had to negotiate (remember how well that flew for Grey Davis, and how forgiving Republicans were with him for doing the same thing?:D ) coupled with the fact that there weren't enough trucks in Kuwait at the time coupled with the fact that they had to provide security in a war zone.

We'll see how true all that is.

Oh and they also claim they didn't make more than a few pennies off each of those gallons themselves.

[Ugg]

Hmmm, I wonder what role kickbacks played in this overcharging scheme?

[G5ROCKS]

Originally posted by mactastic
Halliburton blames the high cost of the short-term contracts that they had to negotiate (remember how well that flew for Grey Davis, and how forgiving Republicans were with him for doing the same thing?:D ) coupled with the fact that there weren't enough trucks in Kuwait at the time coupled with the fact that they had to provide security in a war zone.

We'll see how true all that is.

Oh and they also claim they didn't make more than a few pennies off each of those gallons themselves.

It doesn't matter if the gasoline contracts were all above board and if Hallibuton did not, in fact, overcharge anyone, and made only pennies on the gallon. People will believe what they want to believe.

[mactastic]

Originally posted by G5ROCKS
It doesn't matter if the gasoline contracts were all above board and if Hallibuton did not, in fact, overcharge anyone, and made only pennies on the gallon. People will believe what they want to believe.

It doesn't matter? Nice apologist attitude. I for one would like to know where my tax dollars are going and if I'm getting ripped off or not!

[mactastic]

And now this... (http://money.cnn.com/2003/12/22/news/international/halliburton.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes)

So maybe Halliburton is not where the orders to buy more expensive gas came from.... not that they weren't making money off it, but the taxpayers are getting scammed to pay off the political favors owed by the Bush administration to the Kuwaitis. Nifty. This scandal goes up past Halliburton to the WH.

A Halliburton Co. official said he and his staff were pressured by the U.S. Embassy and Kuwait government officials to buy gasoline from Kuwait as a political favor, rather than possibly cheaper Turkish gas, the Wall Street Journal said on Monday.


Thomas Crum, chief operating officer for Halliburton's Kellogg, Brown & Root unit's Middle East government operations, was quoted in the newspaper as saying, "There's been considerable pressure here on our people from the embassy encouraging us to buy as much fuel as we can from Kuwait, telling us it's a political issue."


Earlier in December, the Pentagon said a draft audit found evidence KBR may have overcharged U.S. taxpayers $61 million to supply fuel to Iraq from Kuwait.

According to the paper, Crum said that embassy officials, whom he did not identify, indicated that the political nature of the issue related to the U.S. government's desire to show appreciation to Kuwait for its help in the American-led invasion of Iraq.


Company officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

[3rdpath]

hmmmm....halliburton is also saying it's because of some accounting foul-ups.

yea, right.

notice how accounting foul-ups always overcharge...ntm, the a/p department has glitches but the a/r dept always seems up to date.

fascinating.

[kuyu]

When you build a house, do you contact a foundation guy, framing guy, drywaller, roofer, concrete guy, landscaper, painter, electrician, plumber, cabinet maker, floorer, and a window guy?

No. You call one general contractor, pay him/her, and the builder subcontracts all of the work for you.

If you build a nation, do you contact....

No, you write one check to one company who sub-contracts the whole job. Haliburton is the only US company capable of overseeing a $15 billion dollar "house."

If the painter overcharges, is that the g.c.'s fault?

Also, lets play six degrees of seperation.
1. Guy works for company
2. Said company gets oil job in Iraq from haliburton
3. Guy overcharges for oil
4. Dick Cheney used to work at haliburton
5. Dick Cheney now works for W.
6. Bush overcharged for oil

It's like the Salem witchhunt all over again. Political cannon-fodder of sorts....

[zimv20]

Originally posted by kuyu

If the painter overcharges, is that the g.c.'s fault?

yes

[mactastic]

Originally posted by kuyu
If the painter overcharges, is that the g.c.'s fault?

Yes it is. When it comes time to sue for damages the GC is definelty going to be shouldering some of the blame. He/she has the responsibility of oversight.

But let's take your analogy a little farther. If the painter screws up the job the GC is also responsible for fixing the problems even if the painter walks off the job. Many a GC has gone belly up because of lousy choices in subcontractors.

[zimv20]

Originally posted by mactastic

But let's take your analogy a little farther. If the painter screws up the job the GC is also responsible for fixing the problems even if the painter walks off the job.

a real-world example: a friend hired a GC to do a number of projects on his house, including a new hardwood floor. the GC subcontracted out the floor. the subs disconnected a radiator to install the floor, then reconnected it incorrectly.

water leaked out and ruined the brand new, 3/8" oak floor. the GC had the subs install a new new floor and paid for it out of his own pocket.