Halliburton faces Iraqi work audit

US CONTRACTOR Halliburton faces an extended probe by auditors in Iraq after an investigation revealed problems with expenses charged by staff at its Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) subsidiary.

The development is the latest blow for the group, which was run by Dick Cheney until he partnered George Bush in their quest for the White House in 2000.

'We definitely will have some concerns about the level of expenditure at the Kuwaiti Hilton,& Stuart Bowen, inspector-general for the Coalition Provisional Authority, told reporters, referring to an operations centre run by KBR.

There are additional concerns about truck costs, Bowen added. The inspector-general said his team would start a broader audit. KBR has lost more than 30 of its employees and subcontractors in Iraq, and Halliburton officials said security issues had driven up costs.

But that was only part of the story, Bowen said.

'I think the danger drives security costs but not for everything else,' he added. 'Their security costs are high because of the danger and that is to be expected, but tying the loss of life to costs is inappropriate,' he said.

US Defense Department auditors have already questioned KBR's pricing in Iraq, particularly for getting fuel into the country and the price of meals for troops in Kuwait and Iraq.