KIRKUK, Iraq, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. government auditors say a key northern Iraq oil pipeline is now a drain on Iraq's government after construction delays and massive oil spills.
The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction released Monday an audit of the 31-mile Kirkuk to Baiji pipeline, which was supposed to be finished more than two years ago and add an additional 300,000 barrels of oil per day to Iraq's crude output.
The Washington Post reports that auditors found a lack of regular oversight by the original contractor, Kellogg Brown and Root, a Halliburton Co. subsidiary, and even less oversight by U.S. officials once KBR was removed from the job.
Auditors witnessed pools of oil instead of piping oil from oil fields to refineries, possibly contaminating drinking water and leaving the Iraqi government with an estimated $14.8 billion gap in oil revenue.
Auditors were kept from inspecting one section of the failed pipeline project from the ground because a subcontractor would only take on the job if Americans were kept out.
But the auditors flew over the area and found oil spills.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in charge of the project, but it and others headed by U.S. reconstruction efforts are winding down and will be handed over to Iraqi authorities soon.
Maj. Gen. William H. McCoy said the audit didn't reflect security issues on the ground.
There is no estimated date for completing the project.
The auditors released a series of reports Friday outlining cost overruns and failed or slowed projects on a number of issues, including power stations, hospitals and prisons.
