Coals to Newcastle

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime last April, Iraq’s resuscitated oil industry has been unable to produce enough gasoline, cooking oil and other petroleum products to meet the country’s needs. Houston-based Halliburton Co., the contractor hired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to repair the dilapidated energy infrastructure, has been ordered to bring refined products into the country. So far, U.S. taxpayers have spent some $562 million under the Halliburton contract to bring in gasoline and other fuels.